The Afterlife Chronicles
by Meruru
Summary: Their bond was created with blood and death. Enforced with loneliness and boredom. What else is coming their way? Lo and behold, afterlife is a busy time. AxC
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing or any of its characters (although I would like to).

* * *

A huge victorian-style study was lighted with only the screen of a notebook PC, perched on a big old-fashioned desk. Lady Integra Wingates Hellsing was working. Actually, she was trying to work. Lots of important reports had to be read and some decisions had to be done, but...

"Damn, I'm bored! Why can't I go to a mission? I have to check my new Jackal gun, after all! You keep dispatching humans to every job out there, and I sit in this dull mansion like some bloody turkey on a festive dish! Booooring!"

Integra's brow twitched. She had listened to this old song far too much for this afternoon already. She raised her head and looked at her special agent. The very special one. Right now Alucard's head and torso were sticking out of the ceiling while he was wandering in circles around the chandeleur and complaining. Integra silently sighed. She knew that Alucard's 'oh-poor-me-how-bored-I-am' mood. He could rant about that for ages, being even more obnoxious than usual.

Why don't you go and read something? Or watch TV?" – made she a weak attempt.

"Hmph. Stupid entertainment for humans. Who do you think I am? A housewife?!" - he retorted angrily.

"Internet then. Why not? Walter spends a lot of time browsing the Net. He says it's very amusing."

"For Walter maybe. He's old and doesn't need much physical activity. Do you know what nickname that old geezer uses in chats? Spiderman! Bwahaha!" - Alucard temporarily snapped out of his gloominess and snickered evilly. Integra saw her chance to get rid of the workaholic vampire and made her voice as stern as possible: "You should pay more attention to your duties, Alucard. Victoria Seres is your assistant and she's quite a rookie in our business. You are responsible for her new state and she knows close to nothing about her abilities. So go and train her. "

"Huh? That little police girl? - Alucard stopped his circling about the ceiling and started to vanish slowly. - Oh, well. OK. Better than nothing. It's been awhile since I taught somebody..." The last words came from the now empty space near the lamp. Lady Hellsing sighed with relief and resumed her work.

* * *

Victoria lay on her back in the coffin bed. The lid was closed to provide her a good afternoon sleep, but she still couldn't get used to the new schedule. So she just lay and gazed mindlessly on a poster pinned to the inner side of the lid. She kept a rotating collection of posters or photos there... Always something sunny, bright and peaceful. Anything to distract her mind from the eerie details of her new nature and life... Afterlife. It was completely dark inside when the bed was closed, but she could still see every detail of the poster.

"Hmmm... What should I do? I can't sleep. It's kinda boring to just lie here and do nothing..." - she thought. - "I haven't made friends with anybody here yet. So I can't go and have a chat or drink coffee together or... Oh, hell. What I'm thinking about. Most people upstairs act as if I have a highly contagious skin disease every time I try to walk up and join a conversation. I wonder if any tranquilizers might work on me now..." Suddenly she felt a familiar presence close by. She hastily pushed the button to open the lid.

"Master! What's happened?"

Master was sitting in his favorite position with his boots on the table and grinning mischievously to her. "Nothing's happened. - he shrugged. – I've just dropped in to talk." Alucard stretched his arm and helped himself with a full goblet of blood. "Umm... Not bad. Fresh enough... And not too much anticoagulants. Want some?" Victoria shook her head negatively. "Why? You should have a proper diet. it's essential for your health." Victoria smiled. When Master started his lectures about food, he sounded almost like... like a worried granny. She sat in front of him, put her elbows on the table and asked:

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Hm? Ah, that... You see, our Lady-Boss thinks that you should know more about the specifics of our bodies and such. You are a true vampire now, Victoria. Potentially, it gives you a lot of handy abilities. For example, you can walk through walls, regenerate your body, change it's shape... not that you need to change that shapes, mind you... - Alucard's smirk became broader, - Hm... What I was talking about? Ah, yes. Transformations. We, true vampires, can turn into fog, bats, insects..."

"Insects?! - interrupted Victoria nervously. - I hate bugs!"

"Shame on you, cop. Hating bugs, hah! Ridiculous! Anyway, this type of transformation is a little bit early for you. Let's start with something easy."- with this words Alucard grabbed Victoria's arm and headed to the door. -"The topic of today's lesson - How To Walk Through Walls. To do that you must believe that the wall is just an illusion. Do you follow?" Saying that, he walked through the closed door, holding his assistant's hand tight. Bang! Victoria's head met the heavy iron door with an interesting sound.

"Ow-ow-ow! Master! It hurts!" – whined the girl, sitting on the stone floor and rubbing her forehead, - "I've probably got a concussion thanks to you!"

"No, you have not! You forgot who you are now... So stand up and try again! Remember - the door is not real for you."

"Y-yes, Master..."

Bang! Bang! BANG!!!

After an hour of hard efforts (Victoria's ones, of course, Master just sat at the table, toyed with the Jackal, sipped blood and inserted smartass comments) she succeeded to pass through the closed door. Standing in the dungeon corridor, the young vampire looked at the solid metal of her training facility and sighed.

"Drat it, I would've never believed that some day… night, I mean… I'd be banging a door for an hour. In such a way... And with such an outcome. My life is full of wonders, that's for sure."

Seres made a few steps back, clenched her fists, closed her eyes, prepared herself with a mantra "It's an insani... er... It's an illusion! Illusion! Three bloody inches of a friggin' illusion!!!" and ran forward to check the success. When Victoria opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was an arched eyebrow of her senior. He holstered his black gun and slowly rose from the chair.

"You learn faster than I've expected, police-girl."

Breathing heavily, the girl staggered to the table.

"What now, Master?"

"Why, celebrating, of course! We'll make a glorious pair of burglars - you and me... Let's rob the British Museum for practice! Bwahaha! Just kidding, cop. - added Alucard, noticing his student's frown, - Hey, I have an idea... Why don't you change into something more casual? This uniform of yours can attract some unneeded attention... We'll go out to the city."

"Attention, he says. - mumbled Victoria, changing into her favorite pink jacket and jeans skirt. – Duh!!! Just look, who talks. In that hat he looks like a king-size mushroom!"

"I hear everythiiing, Victoria! - chimed Alucard, suddenly popping his head out of a mirror. - Young girls these days... No fashion sense at all! Besides, it covers from sun rays. I have sensitive skin, you know... Don't want to get it sunburnt."

"Master! - fumed the girl. - Stop peeping already! And eavesdropping!"

"Who, me? How could you say such despicable things... Well, you are ready, I assume. Let's go! The fun has yet to begin!"

"Oh, my... - thought Victoria on their way out of the mansion, stealing a glance at alarmingly cheerful Alucard, - he's really unpredictable... What exactly is he going to do in the city? Ah, whatever... It's definitely more fun than sitting in this gloomy dungeon."


	2. Chapter 2

"How doesn't he fall on his butt? - wondered Victoria, watching her master, rocking recklessly on his chair's hind legs, - it must be one of those mysterious vampire abilities... " They were sitting at a table in the darkest corner of a bar. Victoria couldn't have ever imagined that bar-hopping was popular among vampires too. Master had just ordered two double portions of vodka.

"It's for educational purposes, - he said, winking to her, - I'll teach you how to make the most popular drink among our kin!"

When the portions arrived, another lecture began.

"Ya see, mere alcohol doesn't affect us because of our metabolism, but "Bloody Mary" does. So, if you want to relax after a hard working night..."

"Bloody Mary?"

"Yeah. We can't follow the original recipe completely because of that annoying restraints… But this will do as well. - a long arm sporting a white glove appeared from under the table with a pack of medical blood and carefully added the red liquid into the vodka. - Here we go! Simple, huh?"

Victoria took the glass and sniffed the cocktail cautiously.

"And what's wrong with the original recipe?"

"The original recipe advises to choose a young maiden and make her drink alcohol. When she starts to see something like pink elefants, the drink is ready. Some snobs insist on choosing maidens by name, so that it would match the title... But really the most important thing is the blood type. It has to be A."

"Why?"

"Because it's saltier... Why don't you drink? Give it a try."

Victoria sipped a bit. Warmth ran along her veins immediately. The taste wasn't too bad... She drank more.

A couple of hours later the noise in her head became rather loud and the vision slightly blurred.

"Whoa... I haven't been drunk since our graduation's celebration in the Police Academy..." - she thought and giggled suddenly. What'd her former professors have said, seeing their best student drinking blood and vodka. In a company of a vampire to boot.

"I'll go refresh myself a little, Master," - she said, rising and looking around for the ladies' room door.

"Sure, - answered Alucard, searching for something in his numerous pockets, - I'll fix another drink for us so far."

"Where did you get so much blood, by the way?" - asked Victoria curiously.

"In the fridge, of course, - the vampire casually shrugged his wide shoulders, - You should know that the red fridge in the corner of the kitchen is for us, in case you ever want a snack... But I've taken all the stock out this time. Walter will be furious. He's such a nag sometimes... "Expenses this, expenses that!" Duh!"

Looking into the mirror of the ladies' room, Victoria splashed her burning cheeks with cold water. She had never hoped to see a blush on her face again, remembering the stories of nosferatu's eternal paleness... It was so relieving to see that normal human blush! "Like a schoolgirl on her first date, - thought Victoria, smiling, - Wait! For strangers we may really look like a couple…" This idea pleased her somehow. The girl headed back to the table, still smiling. Her smile faded, when she walked up to the table. Master was careless, having left an empty blood pack on the table and a waiter looked at it with wide opened eyes already.

"Master, what are you doing? - she yelled, - You shouldn't leave trash like that! We don't need rumors!" - added she in a stiffened whisper.

"Huh? Ah, that... You are right. I work for the trash cleaning division, after all! Heh-heh-heh!" - nothing could spoil Master's spirits this evening.

"Let's finish our drinks and leave. Please, Master! That waiter looked scared... What if he calls the police?"

"Ha, afraid of your former colleagues, aren't you, cop? Bwahaha! What can they do to us? Shoot us on the spot?"

"Hellsing's existence is top secret, Master! Lady Integra will be very displeased!" - pleaded Victoria.

"All right, if you insist... - Alucard threw a banknote on the table and got up on his feet, - The night is young yet! We'll have fun elsewhere."

It did sound somehow alarming, but when they walked about a hundred yards down the dark street, Victoria sighed with relief. And gasped at the next moment.

"I forgot my handbag! Wait a sec, please!" - she asked, running back to the bar.

"Take your time, Victoria, - smiled Alucard, waving his hand lazily, - we are not in a hurry, are we?" For the first time in many years his loneliness retreated a bit, leaving him unusually relaxed. Only for a few minutes though, because soon a cry rang over the deserted street.


	3. Chapter 3

Victoria was hastily jogging by a dark passage between two narrow houses, cursing herself for being such an empty head. She hoped the bag was still in the bar... Not too much money there, and nothing really important except the keys from her old apartment. The keychain was a present of her late father when she had been a child - a funny doll of a London constable - a 'bobby', as Brits used to call them sometimes. She didn't want to lose it... It reminded of happy times when her Dad had been alive and her most serious problems had been tests at school. Deep in thoughts, she didn't notice several figures, which appeared behind her back from the passage. When she felt someone's presence there, it was too late - two men were holding her hands and shoulders tightly. They looked like ordinary young bums, but she couldn't get herself free from their grip. What about her new abilities - did they abandon her? She pulled her hands once more but without any success. Another figure appeared in front of her, waving her pink bag in his hand.

"Looking for this, babe? - asked a mock voice, - we've picked it up for you, don't worry. We are real gentlemen, ya know... What about having fun with us instead of that crappy trash cleaner? The one you called Master back in the bar... You guys are into S/M, riiight? - the man grabbed her hair with a hand and pulled Victoria's head back, passing his tongue along her neck and cheek, - A gorgeous chick like you deserves a better master than some fucking weirdo!" Long fangs glistened in his mouth. Victoria screamed. The man hit her on the cheek: "Shut up, bitch!"

"So, you enjoy hitting a woman on the face, eh?" - a deep voice came from behind suddenly. The men startled and turned. Alucard stepped out of a pool of darkness in the narrow passage's dead end. "Does it excite you or you just lack any manners? - he went on, walking up to them slowly, - Let her go, you clowns."

"Master! They are vampires!" - cried the girl, struggling violently. No use. The men only cursed and twisted her hands backwards. She moaned, gritting her teeth. The leader chuckled.

"How did you get there, man? Ah, whatever. I love it when somebody watches me having fun... - he pulled a revolver from his belt and shot twice at Alucard's legs, - Sit! Here, good dog... Now enjoy the show!" The man turned to Victoria. She glared at him with hate. "Master! Are you alright?" – cried she. A familiar snicker was the answer. "Oh, Jeez! He thinks it's funny..."

"You didn't pay any attention, Seres, - replied Master, standing up, - I've told you many times already. Standard ammo doesn't harm us."

The gang of vampires backed a little.

"Wha? You are the same as us? A vampire?"

"Oh, not the same, scum. My job is to clean filthy trash like you. The cesspool needs some chlorine!" - the Hellsing operative pulled out the Jackal. Its size made proper impression and the gang tried to shield themselves with Victoria's body. Too bad - their grip loosened for a second. It was enough for her rage to outburst. She hit the left guy in the stomach with her elbow and when he released her hand, smashed the fist into the second guy's face with all her might. With a sickening 'crunch' his skull gave way under her punch. The third vampire darted forward and tried to snatch the gun from Alucard's hand. With a roar he was twisting the gun upwards with both of his hands. Alucard just laughed coldly.

"Nice try, moron." - his shoulder blurred, taking a form of a hellhound's head. A terrifying muzzle closed its jaws on the man, tearing and devouring his body. In a couple of seconds only a few bloody stains on the pavement reminded of the accident.

Victoria was still fighting with the remaining two members of the gang. She couldn't figure out how to immobilize an enemy, whose body was constantly regenerating at a very fast rate. Her senior solved the problem easily, sending two silver bullets into attackers' chests.

Breathing heavily, Victoria picked her handbag from the ground and shook some gray ash off its pink leather surface. "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes..." - she whispered softly.

"Trash to trash, you mean." - Alucard stood close by, watching her actions idly. "Did they scare you, police-girl?" - he suddenly asked.

"A little, - she admitted after a short pause, - and I'm really ashamed - to be caught off guard like that! I used to be in the Anti -Terrorism team in police back then, you know... Guys called me Kitten and I've felt like one tonight." The ex-policewoman's face became very sad. All the authors of harmless Kitten-jokes were dead now... Had been turned into mindless ghouls and scattered into ashes by her master.

"Shall we go now? - asked Alucard. His voice was unusually quiet. - Miss Kitten?"

* * *

They decided not to return to Hellsing residence so soon, though Victoria's mood was seriously spoiled. She made an oath to herself to train more and started planning her future discussion of that matter with Captain Fergusson, while they walked along the brightly illuminated central streets of the old city. Some stores were still opened and Victoria decided to use the Ultimate Women's Remedy (shopping) to raise her spirits. Alucard didn't mind.

"What exactly do you want to buy?" - he asked curiously, looking around at the shining neon of signs.

"Dunno... - answered his female assistant frankly, - but I realy need something for my room back there in the mansion. It looks too dark and gloomy for my taste."

"Dark? Gloomy? I should show you the chamber given to me by Integra's ancestor! True British hospitality, indeed! Any human jail looks like a doll's house in comparison with that damn cell... - Alucard's usual smile suddenly turned into a sardonic curve of lips. - Despite all the drawbacks of my present life, I'm still grateful to Integra for letting me out of there."

"Master..." - whispered Victoria unsurely. She didn't know anything about the past of people (and undead) who were a part of her life now. She glanced at her master's face once more, but he turned away.

"Look, Seres! Here's a shop named by you! We'll surely find something fitting your taste! Something bright, you've said?" - Alucard grabbed the girl by her forearm and pulled after him enthusiastically. - I wonder what they sell..."

Victoria looked up and saw big red letters: "Victoria's secret".

"Eek! Master! That's not where I meant to..." - she protested, but too late - they stepped inside already.

"Whoa! - Alucard moved his sunglasses on the tip of his nose and scrutinized multicolored goodies on pegs, - I wonder what Walter would say, if you decorate your room with this... Heh-heh-heh!" He stepped forward and picked a set of red lace lingerie from a stand. "Fancy that, my favorite color! Bright enough for your taste, huh?" - Alucard winked mischievously to Victoria. The color of her face matched the set perfectly. She glanced at other females in the shop. All of them were staring at the strange couple. Some of them were starting to giggle.

"Maaaster..." - she sighed. Her senior smiled widely in reply. He bent down to her ear's level and whispered: " You know, underwear fashion really changed since I... heh! had paid attention for the first time!" Seras couldn't help smiling back.

"No doubt about that... But you are rather lively for your old age, Master!" With these words she decisively moved down the aisle. What the hell, she really needed a new nightie...

The shopping tour was successful. Victoria's hands were full of bags with logos of almost all stores they had found opened at that time. Master carried an umbrella stand she had bought for her Harkonnen gun and a huge potted rhododendron. Under his arm was a plush puppy he had won for his female partner in a shooting pavillion of the shopping mall's amusement section. Alucard had used the Casull gun for that. "Habit… Sheer old habit!" - he had explained during their tactical retreat, as they were not too eager to discuss the "weapon of choice" with the mall security.

"Now, cop, what do you think about your abilities? We'd have never managed to escape without walking through the wall!" - Alucard was obviously proud with his student and himself as a teacher.

"That's for sure! I'd really love to see their faces when instead of us they saw only rhododendron leaves disappearing in a brick wall!" - Victoria burst with laughter and Alucard joined her. The guard at Hellsing-Hall gates goggled at the cheerful couple of undeads and pushed the intercom button: "They've arrived. Yes, sir."

Lady Integra Wingates Hellsing looked at the video screen of the gates outpost scene and sighed. She would gladly return that happy time when her restless subordinate had harmlessly sat at her ceiling and complained about his boring life, but it was too late. Her trash cleaning division employees felt the taste of joint 'training' and obviously liked it... Dammit. Integra wasn't optimistic about the state of her nerves in the future.

* * *

Author's note: this fic is based not only on the anime, but on the manga (which is much funnier) as well. Alucard and Integra's personalities are rather lively there... Anyway, I hope you've had fun reading this. More chapters to come...


	4. Chapter 4

Captain Fergusson was in a tough situation. Obviously, he should decide something but... He rubbed his bald head with a hand as he always did feeling uneasy and looked up at last. His eyes met a stubborn gaze of deep red eyes belonging to his most troublesome rookie.

"You see, Victoria, I understand and approve your intention to train more... It's OK to practice shooting but close combat techniques... It's dangerous for your sparring partners, you haven't learned to control your power yet! Look, what you have done! The poor fellow was transferred to Hellsing 3 days ago and is injured already!"

The eyes of both turned to a human-shaped hole in the wooden inner wall of the training hall. Victoria sulked.

"Sir, I'm sorry about that little accident, but that was not my fault he..."

"Enough, Sergeant Seres. You will train alone so far. Dismissed."

"Yes. Sir."

The girl turned away sharply and stomped away to the door. Fergusson sighed.

"I'm too old for this... Oh, well. I'd better go see Walter. Some good old brandy and a little chat with the old chap. That's all I need now." - the officer's face brightened a little and he headed to Walter's headquarters - the castle's kitchen and its vicinity.

His female subordinate walked down the dark stone staircase, leading to her windowless suite. Her usually cute young face bore such an expression this time that a passing by clerk reflexively gripped a silver cross on his neck and muttered the first words of a prayer. Victoria was in the mood to kill.

"That jerk! Grabbing my ass like that and thinking he would get away with it! And I'm blamed for it in the end! Three fractured ribs - feh! Big deal! I should have crippled the damn rookie for a lesson..." - muttered the furious girl through clenched teeth, drying her hair after the shower. Her clothes were thrown on the bed in disorder and Victoria herself didn't bother to put on anything but a towel, - And the others are not better - any excuse to avoid me is OK for them! Captain Galice, you were the only one, who treated me decently here..."

"What's up, police-girl? You look like a tigress with a toothache! Heh-heh-heh!" - came suddenly from behind her back.

Victoria swirled around so quickly that Alucard hardly managed to jerk his head away. Still, a blow-dryer, gripped in a hand like a sword of vengeance, knocked vampire's shades down. Crackle! The fragile construction ended its existence on the stone floor.

"Oops! Broken again! I'm running out of stock already... " - Alucard stooped down and observed the remnants of his favorite accessory with regret.

"That's your fault. Jeez, Master, sneaking up like that... - Victoria gestured angrily and quickly pulled up the towel, slipping down her body. - Have you ever heard the word "privacy"?"

"Oh yeah. Sometimes you and Integra are so alike... Making such a fuss about nothing. Ha! Women!" - Master circled around the room and settled down at the table. - Integra has caught a flu and thus her personality's become even more… hm... explosive. I've never believed it would be possible, heh-heh-heh..." Alucard absent-mindedly picked up a felt-tip pen and started to doodle on a magazine, lying on the table. George Bush on the cover immediately got round glasses, long strands of hair around his face, a cigar between his teeth and a 'Search and destroy!' speech bubble above his head. The vampire chuckled with satisfaction, observing his handiwork.

"I have to dress, Master!" - Victoria glanced gloomily at her senior, holding a heap of clothes in her hands.

"No objections... Go ahead." - Master wasn't going to understand the hint.

The young female sighed and went to the wardrobe. Standing behind its open door, she quickly slipped into clothes and closed the door with a loud bang.

"What's the matter with you? - the sound seemed to attract Alucard's attention to his subordinate. He raised on his feet and towered above Victoria. She turned away.

"Is it serious? Or you've just broken a finger nail or something like that?" - Alucard took Victoria's chin and turned her head, making the girl look into his eyes. Victoria snorted and gave up. She needed to vent that out after all...

"...and Captain doesn't let me spar! He says I'm too dangerous and can't control my strength… Duh! So I have to do everything alone. Everybody here treats me as if I have a plague or something..." - Victoria's lower lip trembled treacherously. She bit it angrily with her canines and looked down on the floor. Suddenly she felt two heavy arms on her shoulders and saw Master's serious eyes quite close to hers.

" I know how you feel, Seres. Alienated, right? Humans don't understand what we are... And it's in their nature to fear, hate or despise everything they don't understand. Not all of them, though... But still, you will have to get used to this. Just don't give up, cop. After all, there are two of us in this place now... - Alucard smiled. - I'll train you personally - consider yourself my apprentice! Tomorrow we'll start with your education seriously."

"Really? - Victoria wiped her eyes and beamed. - And why only tomorrow? I mean, I am off duty now and... Are you busy, Master?"

"Sure, I am. And you too, cop. We have to go and buy me new glasses... The ones you've ruined were the only remaining pair from the batch I bought last month."

"And how many were there in the batch?" - inquired the girl, starting to grin.

"A dozen, as usual... It's one of my biggest expenses, you know!" - Alucard made a 'woe-to-me' face and Victoria couldn't help giggling.

"What a tragedy indeed…Looks like I'm obliged to join you, Master. I'll be ready in a minute..." - the girl turned to the mirror.

"Fine. Let's meet upstairs. I'll be at the porch." - the vampire dissolved in the wall.

* * *

Author's note: in spite of some reviews, I'm shameless enough to continue the story. I guess it's just because I have fun writing it... Well, I hope you'll have fun reading it as well.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure, Master? We can use it?" - Victoria looked at lady Hellsing's armoured Rolls-Royce with a doubtful frown. The car's massive body shone softly in front of the porch and Alucard leaned against its side leisurely.

"And why not? Integra will not go anywhere today - thanks to the flu. Walter has stuffed her with pills so our precious lady will sleep soundly till morning. I hope her mood will improve after that... - Alucard shook his head and tossed a key with Hellsing's emblem on the keychain to Victoria. - Get in. You'll drive."

"Eh... Maaaster... I've never driven such cars!" - whined the girl, slowly taking the Rolls out of the gates.

"So what? Enjoy your new experience then! - Alucard waved his hand to a gate guard with majestic air and went on, - Don't forget about momentum while driving, though. This vehicle is really heavy with all its armor and the full fuel tank."

"Uh-huh, I know... - Victoria fidgeted in her seat nervously and gripped the wheel tighter, - Where now, Master?"

"Walter asked me to run some errands in exchange for the car... Lemme see. - Alucard took a sheet of paper out of his inner pocket and unfolded it, - Our ex-angel of death is idling his time away with his old buddy Fergusson - gossiping about us, no doubt... A drugstore... A bank... Whoa! A new box of Integra's cigars! She smokes too much, I've told her many times to quit, but noooo... That stubborn girl never listens to elders' advices!"

"Well, let's start from the City then." - sighed Victoria, who knew that some banks closed earlier on Fridays.

After finishing almost all Walter's errands, the two came to the glasses shop at last. Alucard was greeted as an old customer there.

"The same as usual, sir?" - asked the chief salesman, taking out a package with so familiar to Victoria dark glasses, - How many?"

"A dozen, of course. Let's follow the tradition... Heh." - Alucard picked one pair out of the box and put it on his long nose immediately. Victoria snorted and walked up to a stand with women's accessories by the window. One of them caught her eye - a frameless pair of shades with rectangular glasses of a delicate shade of pink. She put them on and looked into a big mirror behind the counter.

"Not bad, really... - she turned her head and tried to look at herself from aside. - Those tales about vampires not reflecting in mirrors are just someone's sick imagination, what a relief! Don't know what I would have done if it'd happened to be true!"

"Pssst, lady! - a whisper snapped her out of her musings. A young fellow in a salesperson's uniform tried to attract her attention, glancing cautiously at Alucard's back, - Are you with him?"

"Y-yeah... So what?"

"Please, ma'am! For God's sake, tell me - what does he do with that sunglasses?! He buys them all the time - every month he comes here to purchase several damn pairs! It drives us crazy, but the chief banned us from asking our 'best customer' directly..."

"Errr... Um... - Victoria's mind was working at its full speed in order to concoct a believable answer for the curious salesman, - You see, he breaks them pretty often - at work, mostly... He's a little bit clumsy, I guess! Ah-ha-ha... "

"What kind of work could that be?!"

"Sorry, it's classified information... - the salesman looked suspicious like hell and the girl hurried to drive his attention away from her master's biography, - How much for this pair? I like it!"

"Ah, this? They suit you very well, miss... 200 pounds plus a tax."

"What?! For a mere pair of sunglasses?"

"Not mere - they are from the latest Gucci collection! We don't sell cheap stuff here, only the best brands!" - the guy looked insulted a bit.

"Eh... Well... No, thanks then." - Victoria put the glasses on the counter and left the shop to the salesman's utter disappointment. She stopped at the sidewalk and started to look for the key in her handbag, when suddenly a joyful cry, making a chill run down her spine, rang in the warm evening air.

The girl quickly turned and froze - her worst nightmare was closing by and it was too late to run.

* * *

Father Anderson was approaching quickly, donning his trademark insane smile. His right hand slipped under the trenchcoat, where an endless number of blessed blades seemed to dwell and maybe even breed.

"Thou cannot escape the vengeful hand of God almighty, foul creature!" - thundered the priest, making all the people in the street look at him. Victoria stepped back, suppressing a scream ready to burst out.

"Goodness, he has his hands again... They were chopped off completely! What kind of creature is he?" - she looked around, trying to decide what to do. The situation looked bad enough - without any weapons, in the middle of a crowded street… and her opponent wasn't the type of person who would care about innocent bystanders' lives...

"I will purify thee with our righteous methods!" - Iscariot agent's green eyes gleamed with fanaticism.

"Heh, you do sound like a detergent ad… Corny as usual, dumbass! - Alucard stepped out from behind Victoria's back and pushed a package with sunglasses into her hands. - Here. Hold it for awhile and stay back, police-girl."

"Alucarrrd!" - the priest gasped with hate. He leaped forward, pointing two swords into his sworn enemy's chest. The vampire dodged them gracefully.

"Too slow! Looks like your master didn't heal your wounded paws properly, dog! - another pirouette, followed by Alucard's laughter and Alexander's angry growl, - Guess, we should report pet abuse, huh, Victoria?" One of the blessed blades whistled quite close to the vampire's nose and he chuckled.

"No, I think I'd better put the poor thing out of its misery!" - the enormous black gun thundered several times and the middle part of Anderson's body exploded, splashing blood and pieces of flesh all around. The priest landed on his back and screamed, scratching the pavement with his fingers. Panicked cries of the people, witnessing the bloody encounter, echoed his voice.

"Rest in peace, priest." - Alucard shot the last round into the regenerator's forehead. The long body of the holy assassin twitched for the last time and became still. The silence, which fell after that, was almost deafening.

Victoria stood a few yards away, cradling the package in her arms. She glanced around just to see the street becoming deserted unbelievably quickly. Only one person didn't seem to be scared - a man was hurrying to the scene from the opposite side of the road. He wasn't old, but his long hair was completely grey. He ran up to the lifeless corpse, kneeled by it hastily and touched its still smoking forehead and chest. Shaking his head, he snatched a cell phone from a pocket and dialed a number.

"Buffonard! Send a car with several people to me at once! Yes, I'm still here... Prepare all required for the Ultimate Incantation procedure immediately. Brother Alexander will need it as soon as possible."

Folding the phone and hiding it back into the pocket, the man stood up and turned to the vampires.

"Hellsing's nosferatu again. - he almost spat these words in disgust, - Some day we'll erase even the memories of you from this world. Of you and your human masters!"

"Oh, glad to see you too, Maxwell. Long time no see... Can't say I missed you, though. - Alucard's smile was extremely malicious, - A tough day for you, Iscariots, huh?"

"Any hardships endured in the name of God are joy for us, true Christians. - said the Iscariots commander through clenched teeth, - We'll be repayed hundredfold for our loyalty in Heaven."

"If you say so, Mr. Masochist... Well, I'm always glad to make your life a little more joyful! - the vampire chuckled and bowed mockingly, - Sorry, but I don't have time to continue our theological dispute. Let's go, Victoria!" He grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her in the direction opposite to the one their car was parked in. The two quickly turned around the corner, hearing the wailing of police sirens coming closer.


	6. Chapter 6

Alucard walked forward quickly, almost dragging Victoria after him. Unless Integra had ordered him not to kill Maxwell, he would have got rid of that annoying Iscariot pest once and forever... His eyes shone gloomily, catching and reflecting the last orange rays of the dying sun. The twilight flooded the streets of the gigantic city with surreal violet shadows, erazing the logical order of daylight London. Victoria sighed, looking around. She had been afraid of darkness being a kid, hadn't liked it being an adult, but now... She longed for darkness, so soft and comforting. The uncontrollable changes kept occuring, her mind and body were getting less and less human. Deep in thought, the young vampire bumped into her senior, who stopped suddenly.

"Look, police-girl."

They stood on the stone-coated bank of Thames, watching the night conquering the angled line of the city horizon. Street lamps flashed into life as the last defense line against the falling darkness.

"The dusk is a fracture between two worlds, Victoria. Humans are led to their shelters by their instincts now... Our instincts tell us that our time is coming. Do you feel it? The whisper in your blood... You are a creature of a night and it's no use to deny it. You chose your path that night in Chaders church."

"I know, Master... - the girl braced herself with both hands and closed her eyes sadly, - There is no way back, I understand... But I'm scared! My humanity is disappearing drop after drop, every moment I lose my former self. When the last bit of that human me vanishes… What will I become?"

"A handful of ash, I suppose. Only total destruction can remove 'human you' from present you, little coward! - Alucard smirked sarcastically, turning to his shocked subordinate, - How can you be so inept? Do you think your humanity is only physiology? Your mind, Seres, is all that matters. The mind and the soul of a human - it's not that easy to lose them..." Deep shadows turned Alucard's face into an ancient mask. He looked at the river again.

"How old is he?" - Victoria wondered for the hundredth time. The life of her master had always been a mystery for her, but she had never mustered enough courage to ask that straightforwardly. The same happened this time, she even parted her lips to let the question fly out but hesitated at the last moment.

"I'm old enough to regret it sometimes. - uttered Master suddenly without turning his head, - And quit drilling me with your stare! Yes, I can read your thoughts when they are as clear as now."

"What?!" - that was an unexpected turn of events for Victoria. - Ah... Errr..." She blushed violently and tried to remember what she had been thinking about these days. Alucard looked at her from his height and obviously enjoyed the show, grinning wider and wider. At last he barked a laugh.

"Well, I'm really glad to have you around lately, cop! You are making my life less boring... Why so awkward all of a sudden? I'm not going to dig your mind for everything you think... - Alucard pressed his gloved hand to his chest and said with a flourish, - Fear not, fair maiden! Your terrible secrets will be safe with me! I'll carry them with me into my coffin... Heh-heh-heh!" Victoria sulked, feeling really annoyed.

"Oh, what a glare! Don't worry about your precious privacy, Seres. Usually I'm aware of your thoughts only when they are almost pronounced... So if you want to tell me something - don't hesitate. Like this time - "Stop that idiotic cackling, Master, will ya?", right? Mwahaha!"

"Fine! Stop that idiotic cackling, Master, will ya?!" - blurted Victoria suddenly. Her angry red eyes shone in the dark like candles. This was the first time she talked to her Master in such a way.

"Good. If you had accepted my offer and drunk my blood back then, it would have been even better... Now you look like a true vampire, Seres, so enraged and independent. So beautiful... Here, catch." - Alucard tossed something small to his subordinate. Victoria caught it automatically and looked at her trophy.

"What's this?"

"Those glasses you chose back in the shop. Pink again, huh? Tsk, tsk… By the way, what was that about me being clumsy at work, eh, police-girl?"

"And what was I supposed to say? - Victoria looked slightly embarassed but stubborn enough to keep arguing, - That a couple of times a week you get a bullet in your head and thus your shades break? Hah... Nice excuse! And the time when you were careless enough to let your head be chopped off by Anderson? I remember how I stepped on your glasses and then your head was tossed right into my arms! I thought you were dead... That I'd never see you again... I... I..." - her voice broke and trailed away. A long pause fell, with only the splashing of the river waves and distant sounds of the city softening the silence.

"I'm sorry, Master... - muttered Victoria at last, - I shouldn't talk like that to you... These things are not of my concern, I believe." She turned away and started to open the package awkwardly. The girl almost dropped it when a long arm stretched and caught the box in the air. Alucard opened the case and put the shades on Victoria's nose.

"Here... Like master like apprentice, I guess... Both of us are clumsy sometimes. - the vampire chuckled softly. - I'll try not to lose my head in the future. Not that I'm enjoying it either, you know..."

"Yes... Probably..." - Victoria rose her head and glanced at her Master face unsurely. His eyes watched her intently but the expression of his face was unreadable.

Suddenly Alucard smiled and held out his hand: "Shall we? I'm sure the street is clean already... Our Vatican friends and cops have left by now. It's time to return."

* * *

The first thing the two saw after their return the empty street was a chalked silhouette of a long human body on the pavement. A huge puddle of blood was almost dry already, but numerous chains of bloody footprints around showed that it had taken quite a time.

"Hm... It was quite a commotion here after we'd left! - said Victoria, enthusiastically observing the spot. She felt as if she had returned back to her police duties. - Look, these traces must belong to that man, Maxwell... And somebody else! The body was dragged here - to a car, I assume - pretty hurriedly..."

"Wonderful deductive ablilities, Sherlock Holmes, but we know already who the murderer is! Heh… - Alucard watched his young partner sarcastically, - At least, I hope that 'murderer' is the right term... Maxwell was babbling about the Ultimate Incantation or something like that so they'll try to repeat their resurrecting trick, I think."

"What? Oh no, not again... - Victoria hugged her shoulders with both hands and frowned, - Goodness, that crazy priest keeps returning like some bogeyman from a fairy-tale. I thought you got rid of him for good, Master..."

"Hah, let's hope Anderson is already rotting in a grave he so richly deserved... Anyway, if he appears again, let's try an explosive round from your Harconnen on him. It may turn out a perfect lullaby for that Vatican dope... My, my, and what are we having here?"

Hellsing undead operatives turned around a corner to a place their car was parked. They quietly stopped and looked down the street. A motorcycle stood by their Royce and two bulky figures were doing something with the front door window.

"Know what, Victoria? I think these guys are going to have a joyride in Integra's car... Surprise, surprise. Well, I leave it to you, police-girl. You said you need practice, so go ahead. I'll be nearby... Undercover." Alucard melted in the warm night air, smiling like Cheshire Cat.

Victoria nodded and moved forward. She didn't want to be noticed too early and stepped as noiselessly as she could. She managed to do that, because the sound of her voice made both thieves start violently and turn to her in unison.

"Good evening, gentlemen! What are you doing to this car, if I may ask?" - chimed Victoria with an innocent girlish intonation. The reward for this was Master's amused snicker in the back of her mind.

The criminals eyed the harmless appearance of the unwished witness and were obviously relieved.

"It's not business of yours... So get lost."

"Unfortunately, it's my business. And my car! Kind of..." - Victoria waved the car key in front of their noses and presented the carjackers with a bright smile, - Why don't you follow your own advice and get lost? I can be generous enough and let you go..."

"Oh, really? And what can you do - scream for cops? Don't even try!" - the closest man stepped to her and grabbed the thin elbow of the girl with a free arm - the other one held a screwdriver in it.

"Cops? Who needs cops? - Victoria twisted his arm and easily threw the heavily built body over her shoulder, aiming it into a small puddle a few feet away, - Oops, here we go! You are so careless, mister! Gimme this, you can hurt yourself with this pointy thingie..." The screwdriver found itself in Victoria palm. She looked intently into thieves' eyes and pressed her thumb onto the screwdriver's stem. It bent a little and broke with a dry snapping sound. One of the men gasped.

"Shall we have any further discussion? - inquired the girl in a purring voice, - or start the proper punishment already? I'm always thirsty after physical exercises..."

She stepped forward, grinning widely and exposing her long white canines. A pleasant buzzing appeared in her head, hushing the cold voice of sanity, making her understand the feelings of a cat toying with a mouse... The men backed a little, looking into Victoria's face with wide opened eyes as if being hypnotized. Her right hand rose - it looked like it knew what to do - and the man at the car door stumbled to her in an unsteady pace. He got into the young vampire's embrace like a lamb, staring blankly into the dark sky. Victoria's hands closed in a lock on his back and her lips parted greedily above her victim's carotid artery. The urge to gnaw her teeth into the warm flesh and feel the salty taste of blood was almost unbearable... Her vision blurred and colored red.

"Help... Somebody... For God's sake..." - a weak whisper of the man was hardly heard, but cut Victoria's mind like a sharpened blade. She exhaled chokingly and released her embrace. The man fell on the ground as a puppet with torn strings and fidgeted, trying to get up. As soon as he succeeded, he rushed away, howling wordlessly in animal fear. The other unlucky thief followed, glancing back at the scene with absolutely mad eyes. Victoria's anger and tension needed some release. Unexpectedly, without thinking, she seized the motorcycle and hurled it perhaps twenty feet along the street. The vehicle slightly missed the second fugitive's back, he yelped, sped up and disappeared round the corner.

When the horrified screams faded in distance, Victoria's shoulders sagged slightly. She turned to the sound of cold laughter, coming from behind.

"You are a coward, cop. Why have you stopped? - Alucard stood a few feet away with a derisive grin on his face, - Why don't you quit this ridiculous fight against your own nature?"

"Against my own nature, you say?" - Victoria breathed on the verge of hyperventilation. It seemed impossibly hard to clear her head. The ecstasy of awoken instincts was still screaming in her blood, pushing her to do something crazy. Suddenly she moved forward and grabbed her Master's coat with both arms. Pulling him down to her face level, she kissed him.


	7. Chapter 7

The moment lasted like eternity. Two figures stood without any motion, as another lifeless part of the night city landscape, letting the flow of seconds stream around them. At last the pentagram-stigmated arms moved, sliding along the fragile figure in front of them, making it lean forward, enveloping it into an embrace... Long fingers, which could rip any enemy apart in seconds without effort, touched Vicoria's body lightly and carefully. Alucard tilted his head, kissing his young subordinate. Then his lips moved down, following the line of the slender neck, breathing another kiss at the place his fangs had turned a dying girl into an immortal being like himself. Unruly raven black tresses of hair mingled with golden ones, tickling Victoria's skin, which suddenly became supersensitive. The girl moaned softly, embracing her Master's neck with both hands and throwing her head back to get more... She felt electrified. Her body made a perfect arc, a natural response to the feeling which came to substitute the anger, fear and self-disgust, having overwhelmed her a few moments ago. So warm... Suddenly a big cold raindrop hit Victoria on her nose. And again. And again... The rain turned into a shover, its chill brought the girl back into reality. The tangled knot of emotions in her soul dissipated as well, leaving the only dominating feeling - terrible embarrasement. What the hell was she doing?! She jerked away as if being burned. Master! Master... He released her already, standing beside with that usual smirk on his face. It was as easy to read any emotions through this sarcastic curve of lips as through a concrete wall.

"Get in! Unless you want to soak to the bone." - Alucard turned to the car not looking at his perplexed partner any more. She meekly followed, getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine. Several minutes ticked away in silent speeding along the wet London streets... Victoria's state of mind was rapidly sliding to the mute panic. She glanced at the dark figure to her left, keeping the casual pose with crossed arms and long legs stretched as far as the Royce's spacy salon allowed. The same smirk was clearly seen - thanks to the enhanced vision of her new breed... What does he think? What was that reaction of his? Another act of pity as then back in Chaders or... The hot wave of embarrasement came again. Alucard audibly chuckled. Reading her mind? Oh, Jeez...

"Fabulous evening it was, eh, Seras? Full of surprises... Love that. - did she imagine that or he really winked to her? - Say something, cop."

"Ah... Uh-huh." - the vampire recruit fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably and bit her lip.

"Very informative. Care to rephrase?" - Alucard raised his arms, stretching with the dangerous grace of a big cat. Something shiny fell out of his coat and clanked on the floor. Alucard looked down at it and frowned. His gloved fingers motioned slightly and the tiny object floated up to be stopped and 3D-rotated in the mid-air under the attentive red eyes' gaze.

"Err... Well... What happened today was pretty... pretty disturbing. - admitted Victoria reluctantly, racking her mind over the possible topic to change the conversation. The unknown floating object, still scanned with her Master's eyes, gave her a helpful hint. - What's this, Master?"

"A memory... Kind of. The only thing I kept since... the old times."

"Oh! May I look at it closer?" - Victoria was honestly intrigued by now. A piece of Master's mysterious past! What could that be? So small...

"All right... But keep watching the road - to break my new shades and old head in an ordinary traffic accident would be kind of vulgar." - the faint light of Alucard's sense of humor appeared in his eyes again. His fingers made a lazy extending movement and the object floated closer to Victoria, halting between her face and the steering wheel. It turned out to be a golden ring. Obviously the old one, with a seal on its side, bearing a dragon, carved thoroughly on it. The seal had been heavily used - obviously, for a long period of its vast biography - the Latin lettering around the dragon crest was practically unreadable. "Vlad... - tried Victoria to spell the survived part of the writing, not much success she gained though. - What's this supposed to be, Master?"

"A dead part of my past, Seras. Before England. Before Hellsing... - Alucard's tone was heavy. He plucked the ring out of the air and pocketed it back. - Watch the speed, or you'll ruin Integra's fancy front gates."

Indeed, the dark bulky silhoette of Hellsing-Hall pierced the rainy night with a few lighted windows about a hundred yards ahead. The gate guard left his not very cozy, but at least dry outpost booth to check the newcomers. He looked into the car, nodded warily and motioned them to pass. The trip ended at last. Suddenly Victoria felt all the hardships and worries of the past several hours taking over her. She shut the engine and sighed in relief, climbing out of the driver's door. Alucard appeared beside her, looking down at her exhausted face. Victoria felt her heart sinking, she couldn't help to hesitate and worry about how she should behave now. No obvious ideas popped up. She just pretended to observe the laconic beauty of Hellsing-Hall's facade, when suddenly felt Master's presence in her mind. "Tired, police girl? Drink more blood! You are supposed to be tougher than now. After all, you have my blood in your veins!" The mental touch was colored with usual Alucard's irony, but it contained certain concern of his apprentice's well-being as well. Victoria raised her gaze and the two pairs of red eyes met. "Master... about today... I..."

"A-hem. Good evening, Lord Alucard, Miss Victoria. Welcome back." - came from the porch as a bolt out of a blue. Both vampires, caught off-guard, turned quickly. Walter K. Dornez, Hellsing's butler, gunsmith, coordinator and retired Angel of Death stood in the opened doorway. His neat attire was perfect despite the late hour.

"H-hello, Walter! And... Good night! Good night, Master!" - Seras made a haste retreat under a crossfire of two keen looks, piercing her back. She had had enough for a day, really... The vision of the coffinated bunk in the basement became her most cherished agenda by that moment.

When the sound of the girl's footsteps faded away in the maze of castle's corridors, Walter returned the full attention to his old comrade, who walked in a lazy pace up to the entrance.

"You had some fun today." - stated Walter, having put on his monocle and thin smile.

"Yeah, we ran into Anderson. The idiot started raving in a busy street, can you imagine that?"

"Outcome?" - Walter' monocle glistened as a chill appeared in its owner's voice.

"Out cold. Temporarily or constantly - not sure, Maxwell came over and called somebody to scrape his best employee into a bucket... Heh-heh-heh."

"No bystanders killed or injured, I hope?"

"Nah, unless some overimpressionable human got a heart attack in the street. Anderson decorated all the sidewalk with his guts. Bloody expessionistic...- the nosferatu grinned nastily. - A brand new definition for 'body-art' term, I'd say."

"Well, that's nice. - Walter's smile became a little wider. - But basically, I'm sure you had another sort of fun this evening."

"Oh, really? How come? Clearvoyance?" - inquired Alucard sarcastically, rising a brow at his friend.

"No, sheer observation. You have some lipstick on your shirt's collar, you know. I doubt it's Anderson's. - Walter's tone dripped with irony too. - Looks like young female aides are absolutely irresistible for their bosses these days..."

Alucard just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. The tiny pink spot on his collar vanished.

"I've always envied the way you take care of your clothes. Handy ability, indeed." - remarked Walter, closing the heavy oak door behind them.

* * *

Victoria twitched and sat up quickly, trying to hold her breath. The terror of the nightmare was fading, leaving the vague memory of blood, dripping from stone walls, overflowing Hellsing-Hall's empty corridors. The feeling of condensed hatred in the air, strange whispers and cold humorless laughter, ringing and echoing in every corner... And not a sign of human presence anywhere. Victoria sighed. Being a human, she had never had nightmares that intense and emotional... And she had used to wake up in a sunlit room with light walls, hearing the sounds of the city buzz and birds chirping through the numerous windows. What a difference to this silent stone chamber and the coffin bed! The girl glanced down at the main furniture item in her room. "Oops!" - Victoria's eyes widened, observing her pink-clad upper torso, sticking out of the bed's lid. A closed one. "Oh, crap. I look like a sailship nose figure. - Victoria absendmindedly raised her right hand to scratch her head but only hurt the palm, knocking into the lid from inside. - Owww... The lid is not real... Not real, damn it... Gotcha!" Master's lessons helped - she pulled both hands out and licked the aching knuckles. Propping her head with both hands, she started to think what to do. She didn't have any urgent duties for today, unless some vampires made themselves obnoxious enough to win a visit by Hellsing's Trash Cleaners. She needed a breakfast, but still the idea of blood consuming didn't make her enthusiastic. At last she decided to visit the castle's kitchen - to look at humans' food, smell it, admire it... Victoria was going to avoid the only product available for her now as long as possible, being too shocked with the carjackers incident the previous day.

Everything went on as usual, when she reached the main source of yummy scents in Hellsing castle. The cooks gave her wary looks. Passing by the notorious red fridge with "snacks", as Master used to call the numerous packs with medical blood, she noticed a young trooper with a sandwich in his teeth. He stared at her, then at the fridge, gulped and left the place in a hurry. Victoria cursed silently. Again... No chance for her to be fully accepted by her human comrades. What about unhuman? She remembered the previous day and her soul was thrown into a chaos of contradictory emotions again. Alucard, her Master... She had got used to his presence at first. Started to enjoy being around him later... When it'd come to romance, she had always been shy with men before. So shy it had been almost painful... But her new nature was sprouting through the old one, weakening it, like an ivy drains the tree it grows on. Was it the influence of her vampiric bond to the Sire or her old human self that she needed to see her Master now, to be beside him, to become closer to him? Quite a question. She almost lost herself in that feeling the day before... And was accepted somehow. What did all that mean to her Master? Just another way to amuse himself and get rid of his eternal boredom? Her pride screamed against the idea of being just a toy. She sighed, deep in thoughts, when the door banged, returning her to reality. Walter walked to the table, where a tray, served for tea, was placed. Apparently, he was going to carry it up to Lady Integra, still sick in bed. Walter looked not that healthy as well. Victoria quickly rose to greet the old man and was quite in time to hold him up - Walter pressed a hand to his chest and swayed slightly.

"Walter, what's going on? You look so pale! - cried the girl, leading him to the chair. Cooks left their workplaces to crowd around with anxious looks. - Give him some water, hurry! And call a doctor!"

"Sorry, miss Victoria... No need to worry... I'm fine." -Walter's voice cut the noise suddenly. He stood straight again, but his hand was still there, holding the place where his heart was. He tried to take the tray, but Victoria caught his hand and stepped forward.

"No. I'll take it up to lady Integra or you'll fall somewhere in the hallway with all this fancy china. Please, Walter, go and see the doctor. Now! You don't look like Hellsing family butler now, more like Hellsing family ghost!"

Walter just shook his head and tried to walk around Victoria and reach the massive silver tray.

"I must do it myself, miss Victoria."

"I see... You don't trust me enough either... Nobody does here. - the young vampire's voice was bitter. She released the butler's hand and lowered her head, hiding her eyes under the unruly golden bangs. - But please, go and see a doctor! Give this thing to someone else and take care of yourself!"

Walter looked into the ex-policewoman's face, thinking of something. Then he bowed slightly.

"Please, deliver these meals to lady Integra for me, Miss Seras. Don't forget to tell her that it's nothing serious with me, in case she asks... For the last 10 years I served her meals myself every day." - he turned and walked to the door. There he stopped, holding the doorknob, and looked back at Victoria, donning a white apron already. - You remind me of lady Integra, when she was younger... Thank you, Miss Victoria." He smiled warmly and disappeared around the corner.

Victoria raised the heavy tray easily - it was nothing compared to the Harconnen gun she carried so often. One of the cooks opened the door for her. She nodded and passed through it, tossing a remark over her shoulder: "Follow Walter and make sure he gets to the doctor without any problems."

"Yes, ma'am." - the sound of feet, walking hurriedly in the direction of Hellsing's infirmary, proved to the girl that her advice was taken seriously. She nodded again and gripped the handles of the tray tighter, walking up to the fourth floor. She was still a little afraid of the 'iron maiden', inhabiting the upper part of the main building.

* * *

The knock at the door was responded with "Come in, Walter." at once. Victoria managed to open the door, holding the tray with one hand, and slip inside. The doubtlessly most feminine Knight of the Round Table in all its 1500 years long history sat in the bed with a notebook computer and an ash-tray on a pillow beside. The bed was so big, that the tall figure of Integra was almost lost there. She raised her head and frowned.

"Where's Walter? What's happened?"

"Hello, Lady Integra! - rattled Victoria on hurriedly, - Walter felt slightly unwell and I asked him to go and see Dr.Trawelian! I thought it's OK if I bring your tea instead! Um... I... " - the girl stopped, following Integra's gesture to keep silence. Hellsing's leader was dialing the infirmary number with an extremely worried face. Victoria just silently watched, curious. She never saw Lady Integra, the woman of steel, show any emotions... It was a completely another side of Integra's personality, usually securely hidden under a severe mask.

"Uh-huh... Yes, of course. Don't let him out until he passes the complete check. Tell him it's an order. Thank you, Dr. Trawelian." The phone clicked, and Integra turned to her subordinate.

"Thank you too, Miss Ceras." - the nod of Integra's head was so royal, that Victoria suddenly felt an urge to bow in answer. She suppressed the urge though, because doing it with the tray in her hands would most likely end with her left breast overturning the tea-pot.

"Put the meals there. - Integra motioned to the bedside table and picked a cup. Victoria readily poured some milk and tea into it and stood back, awaiting for a dismission order.

"Despite all the talk about his age, Walter tends to act as if he's still young. Doesn't care about his health at all... - went on Integra. - He's always been like that."

Victoria listened to Lady Integra Wingates Hellsing, seriously surprised. Those few occasions her commander had addressed her directly had usually been scolding and short orders. She looked at Hellsing's leader attentively and noticed feverish blush and tiny sweatdrops on Integra's face.

"Uh-oh, she's not feeling better at all... Whatever treatment she gets doesn't work. - thought the girl, biting her lip. - Well, that explains the present lack of her usual coldness... a little." Integra looked up and met her intent stare.

"What's the matter?"

Poor Vicky freaked out. Was her keen stare considered rude?

"Ah... Nothing, really! Just thought about how long have you known Walter..." - blurted the girl the first thing she could think of.

"Walter? Since childhood - he was my father's friend. Actually, he's like a relative to me... When Father died, he was the only person I could rely on... He and Alucard at some extent."

"Alucard?" - Victoria tugged on her apron absentmindedly, looking at Integra with the big eyes of a child listening to a fairy tale. Integra couldn't help smirking a bit.

"Yes, Alucard. They... Sometimes they both acted like foster uncles or legal guardians towards me. Goodness, it was so annoying! I remember that row about the dress for my introduction ceremony... I had to be introduced to Her Majesty as the next Hellsing leader."

"Dress? - Celes looked perplexed. - I... I've never seen you in female clothes... Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"Never mind. I don't wear that kind of clothes now - they don't fit Sir Integral Hellsing image... Besides, they are not very comfortable. I realized that after the forementioned row... I had to choose the color for the dress. Walter insisted on the pale blue shade to match my eyes color, Alucard... Well, you know Alucard and his obsession about red. They argued for a week and all that thing was going off the deep end..."

"And what color did you prefer? - the young policewoman tried to imagine both variants in her mind. - Either would look great on you, I think!"

"Thank you, but I didn't care about all that a bit. I was just tired of those two, who were pretty close to the point of calling each other names. Heh, come to think about it, even past that point… So, I made a kind of Solomon's decision. - a sly smile appeared on Integra's face, - I wore a tuxedo."

Victoria couldn't hold a snicker, Integra's smile became wider too. She opened her mouth, obviously going to say something else, but all of a sudden moaned and started to cough. The coughing was making her bend over and tremble, gasping for air in the short pauses between the fits. At last her body curved into the fetal position and the terrible ripping sounds in the lungs of the young woman faded. Victoria jumped up to her commander and tried to turn her body as gently as possible. The sight made Victoria's heart wring and ache - the bed sheets under Integra's head became crimson. A tiny stream of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, the blue eyes, always having beamed with life and will-power, were staring at the ceiling blankly, like two marbles.

"Oh-my-God, oh, no, no, NO! - groaned Victoria desperately, feeling the cold gush of terror overflowing her. - God, please, not this! Not now!!!" She clasped Integra's neck with a palm, trying to feel the pulse. Seconds crept by, at last a faint throb under Victoria's thumb made her exhale in relief - the hope was still alive, together with a tiny spark of vitality in Integra's unconscious body. All at once something squeezed her shoulder, almost breaking the collar-bone, and jerked her back with immense power. The girl flew across the room and hit the wall with her back. The sharpness of pain made her vision burst with white light and shatter into pieces. Victoria's weakened knees folded and her body helplessly slipped down on the floor. Such an impact could be lethal for a human, but the body of the undead was less vulnerable - the girl raised her head almost immediately and her eyes widened. Her Master stood in front of her, holding Integra in his arms. A red pentagram sigil blazed above his head like a halo and his face was the face of death.

"What were you doing here, cop? - his icy voice pierced Victoria, making her shrink on the floor. - What have you done? Answer me!!!

* * *

In spite of all the softness of the young blonde's appearance, one of the main features of Victoria's character was her remarkable stubbornness. Like a backbone of steel, it made her keep struggling in any situation if she thought the truth was on her side. The same happened this time. Still shocked and in pain, she clenched her fists and rose her chin.

"What have I done, you ask? Nothing but bringing the tea instead of Walter! You can read my mind almost all the time, so go ahead and read! I'm not hiding anything!"

Alucard frowned and Victoria felt the mental connection between them. Not the one she had experienced before - this time it was like a burning squall, washing every corner of her consciousness. The memories of the last hours flicked through her mind in all its revealing clarity. She didn't object - the unfair accusation dominated any other thoughts.

"I see... Not your fault. Let's go! - he turned to leave, glancing at the girl over his shoulder. - Hurry!"

It was much easier to say than to do though. Having received a direct order through the fully activated master-servant bond, Victoria had no choice but to follow it even if the world was falling apart. Actually, for her it had just happened... The girl gritted her teeth and tried to get up, holding the slippery silk-covered wall with both hands, but her body didn't obey her properly yet. Dizzily, she leaned against the wall for a second, and the room swirled around her when a big hand in a white glove rose her like a kitten and placed on the shoulder.

"Here we go... Hold on, Victoria." - the bedroom background blinked, being replaced with the hallway... the third floor... A heartbeat later they were at the medblock door. Alucard stormed into it, not bothering himself with opening the door - he just stepped through the wall, holding both females carefully. The place was busy already - the doctor and his assistants surrounded a bed in the corner, tossing brief sotto voce remarks to each other. The bed was occupied by Walter - with an oxygene mask on his still face and numerous medical equipment hissing and bleeping around. Dr. Trawelian raised his worried eyes up at the newcomers: "He's comatose, Alucard. It's... What the hell!" The whirlwind of green robed people snatched Integra's body from Alucard's hands at once. Two medics observed the visible part of Victoria's figure, hanging over Alucard's shoulder like a trophy, and tugged at her legs, apparently going to add her to the growing number of their patients. Being literally pulled out of her stupor, Victoria twisted and turned, poking her head from behind Alucard's side to protest.

"Leave me alone, I'm OK. Go and take care of Lady Integra! She started to cough blood all of a sudden and then fainted!"

The medics kept looking at the vampires dubiously. Alucard snorted.

"As far as I know, your medicine is helpless if a person died more than several minutes ago... The cop here is technically dead for about a month already. Don't bother."

He turned and walked out of the ward, still with Victoria on his shoulder. The corridor was empty and silent, reminding the girl of her recent nightmare. The events of a few hours ago seemed so distant suddenly... Alucard stopped at the crossing of two long passages not far from the staircase.

"We have to talk, policewoman."

Victoria stirred under his hand restlessly: "Let me go."

Being descended from her 7 feet high perch, the girl swayed a little, lacking the balance. Her senior caught her by shoulders, putting up straight.

"I'm at your command, Master." - came from the deep shadow, covering the face of the young undead. She stood looking down, wrapped into a cocoon of gloomy self-detachment.

"Listen to me carefully, Seras. I have never doubted your personal loyalty to Hellsing. The only thing in doubt was your ability to stay free of any influence... Someone is trying to behead Hellsing, aiming at Integra and Walter."

"Aiming?" - the cocoon fractured a little, but the blonde's head didn't rise.

"Yes. It's a curse - the old foolproof technology. All this handiwork looks familiar... But whoever planned this, the job couldn't be done without insiders."

"Rats again."

"Not necessary. It could be mental control... Hmph. When I entered Integra's bedroom, I thought that you were bespelled, Victoria. The weak link in the chain... Exhausted with constant hunger, weakened with your memories of being human, you could've become an easy prey. I was wrong. - Alucard's hand moved up from Victoria's narrow shoulder and brushed her cheek. – I'm glad I was wrong."

The young vampire's jaw was set as she locked her gaze with Master's one. - "I understand. I will not be weak anymore. No more regrets."

"Good. – the No Life King'tone was grave. – Now, let's begin. Look for anything suspicious. And remember - don't trust anybody here. Got it?"

"Yes... My Master." - answered the girl, starting to run through a darting flock of bats, which had been her senior's tall body a second ago. Having fetched a gun from the weaponry room, Victoria entered the kitchen.

"No more regrets." - whispered she again, tearing off the top of a blood package, not giving a damn about the stares of people around. The red fluid tasted bitter this time... Seras wiped her mouth with a hand, looked at the red stain and frowned.

"Not human... So what, if I still can think, feel, move...serve and protect, as I swore once. And I will, dammit! No matter what it would cost to me, I'm not going to let people be killed in front of my eyes. Not any more."

Clenching her fists, the small figure of the immortal moved along the corridors of the old mansion. She was determined to do her best in the hunt.

* * *

Author's note: woo-hoo, Gonzo would probably make the second season of Hellsing! Can't wait for it! dances around, scaring the innocent bystanders Errr, what I was talking about... Ah, yes, thank you for your reviews, they really encouraged me to write more! Not sure about the outcome though. So, read and tell me what you think about all this, please.


	8. Chapter 8

Victoria stopped on a crossing of two lengthy corridors, piercing the body of the mansion on the second floor level. Something was attracting her to the left, gently pulling to the northern wing. The mansion had been much more populated at the times of Integra's ancestors, it seemed. The old building had too many rooms to be mended properly by its staff, so there were places just locked for years... If not for good. This wing was always deserted, as far as she could recall... The girl made several steps along the hallway, waking an echo in it, and gasped at sudden understanding. The strong and oh-too-familiar-recently smell of fresh blood was the lead which brought her here. She rushed to the smell source, which turned out to be a door about thirty yards away from the crossing. Vampiric sense of smell was definitely keen.

_"Oh yeah, if we manage to exterminate all the undeads in this country one glorious day, Hellsing institution can always send Master and me to Heathrow airport - to sniff at travelers and their belongings for explosives and drugs... What a career!"_ – snorted the girl gloomily, opening the door with a gun in her hand. She jumped into the room and froze, looking at the bloody mess around. It was hard to imagine the few liters of blood every human body contains, to look so... massive, being let out of its closed pipeline. Crimson stripes were everywhere... And bodies. The dead bodies of the rookies, transferred from army not so long ago; they looked like broken dolls of a careless child. Victoria gritted her teeth in sudden pain of Cheders deja vu and quickly turned to the adjacent room's door, creaking open. Her gun was trained at the door, ready to shoot at anything... But not at the pale fellow in Hellsing troops uniform, staggering slowly into the room. He was holding his side with blood-stained hand.

"What… What's going on here?" - came from him in trembling voice. He stumbled, and Victoria quickly stretched her hands to help him gain the balance. Big, big mistake. The poor bleeding lamb she was up to help and comfort, instantly turned into a mean wolf, so to say. His hand darted from his side with a foot long blade, securely hidden behind the man's back before. Victoria tried to dodge and almost succeeded. Almost. Being distracted, the young vampire lacked a tiny part of a second to escape the cutting edge, plowing through her side and forearm. Her clothes and flesh gave way with a ripping sound and the dark blood-soaked spot started to grow rapidly on the sky-blue fabric of the uniform. Victoria's arm grew numb practically at once. Her pistol fell on the floor, too heavy and slippery with blood to hold in an injured hand... The girl clenched her teeth and tried to attack the adversary in close combat, but the fellow made a quick viper-like movement and leaped back through the doorway. Obviously, his injuries and weakness were fake, but the speed he managed to move... Not human. The full revelation came to her when the dead bodies around her started to twitch, their pale skin graying and deteriorating into the ghouls' disgusting appearance.

"Attack now! Finish her off!" - heard Victoria the yell of the man from inside of the next room. The ghouls didn't need orders for that, though. They were just plain hungry and there was only one available dish in the menu. The policewoman kicked the hand of the first customer away, crushing the chest of the second with the gloved fist of an uninjured arm and winced - her side was still too touchy for such active twists. She bent to pick up her gun, silently cursing herself for not taking Harconnen with her this time. Besides it's shooting abilities, it would have made a perfect club...

"You know, Seras, sometimes I feel like a rebellous teenager's father. Why do you never listen to what I say? - boomed above Victoria's head. Master went straight to the business, turning the ghouls into ashes, which didn't stop him from the nagging session. - I told you, cop, trust no one!"

"Sorry, Master, but I'm not used to be that paranoid..."

"Who's talking about being paranoid? Just don't trust anyone... But me, of course. Can't you tell the difference?"

The last phrase came from the doorway. Victoria rolled her eyes and made a face to Alucard's back. Suddenly she heard her Master whistling in surprise.

"Whoa, you've found it, police girl! They say rookies are always lucky... Hmmm, maybe that's true at some point."

Victoria felt anything but lucky at the current moment, but paced along the blood-soaked carpet to look at the reason of Master's rants. When she peered inside, the sight made her raise her eyebrows. The room, a part of a guest suite once, had all its furniture moved to the walls to give enough place for a giant hexagram painted on the floor with fresh blood. Alucard stood at its edge, eyeing it with profound distaste.

"He escaped. Through the portal, sneaky little bastard. - Master seemed to develop an annoying habit to answer the yet non-pronounced questions of his apprentice. - Yes, this one. The sigils of this kind are used either for sealing us or providing an instant transporting route if inverted."

"Can we use it? Now?"

"Of course, we can. And will. I'm kind of grateful to that vermin for leaving such a gorgeous trail… - Alucard's face became the one of a grinning shark. - So, why not thank him here, police girl."

Alucard grabbed his subordinate's elbow and stopped, feeling dampness under his fingers - the nasty looking cut on the girl's hand was still bleeding slightly.

"So, it was a blessed blade... Did he really think it could protect him that much? Or he's become a die-hard Anderson's fan and started to collect memorabilia already? - the older vampire bent down to regard the wounds. - It must hurt. Injuries of this type take time to regenerate... Care to return?"

The answer was a stubborn look.

"I see. Well, let's not waste any more time then. Give me your hand."

Hand in hand the two stepped into the sigil. It flashed, releasing the embedded power of the spell.

* * *

The transporting through the sigil was a momentary black-out; the next second Hellsing agents' heels hit the wooden floor in the middle of the similar hexagram at the other end of their instant journey. A welcoming party was there already, no flowers or music, though. Eight men stood between the sigil and the only exit of a large windowless room and stared cautiously at the newcomers.

"Hello! Any guides here? We are eager to tour this place..." - drawled Alucard, exposing his teeth in a crooked grin and moving forward.

The mob looked a little bit startled, but basic math encouraged them. A semicircle of Uzi muzzles flashed with fire and the room became a living hell. The automatic guns' roar and Casull barking mixed with swearing, moans and rumbling of plaster pieces, falling from the walls and ceiling. Victoria blinked away the dust and spotted the figure in Hellsing trooper uniform, disappearing behind the door. She yelled with rage and made a suicidal leap forward, forgetting about her sore side and bullets whistling around. A long hand caught her by the collar in the mid-air and yanked back.

"Not so fast, hot-head. We shouldn't part here. - Master silenced the last member of the group and kicked the closest human-shaped heap of ash with his boot's toe. A gun clanked there, sliding along the floor to Victoria's feet. - Take this. Know how to use this toy, I believe?"

"Hmph. Piece of cake." - the girl blew the remains of its previous owner off her new weapon and picked another one, checking the ammo in both. The reassuring weight of the new guns along with the silver-loaded Beretta from Hellsing stock made her feel a wee bit more comfortable. She hanged the second Uzi on her shoulder and jogged after her Master, who was at the door already. Hellsing vampires emerged into a long corridor. Victoria glanced through a window. She thought she recognized the peaceful parks-and-mansions landscape outside. It was a rich suburb at the opposite from Hellsing HQ end of London.

_"Quick... I wonder if this sigil transporting would work for humans...Instead of the Tube, for example…" _

"Quit daydreaming at work, cop! – Alucard's voice came simultaneously with another volley of gunfire from the end of the corridor. - Do your job if you've decided to tag along!"

"Yes, Master! - Victoria raised her trophy gun and hold the trigger pulled for a few seconds, beheading her target with a shower of bullets. - Just hope the jerk we met back at home is there..."

"The only way to found it out is to clear our path and check the remains afterwards. A foolproof method, heh-heh... - Master grinned in his usual predatory way and resumed his walk forward. - Anyway, we have to clean this place entirely, Victoria. We'll not miss him here, don't sweat."

They really didn't. There were no parts of Hellsing ammunition on all the undeads they sent to eternal damnation or whatever fate awaits a vampire after the second death, but they observed the full set of it on the pathetic figure, they got cornered in the elegant hall of this enigmatic house. The man pressed his back to the carved oak wall panels, holding his blessed blade in front of himself. It was shaking in his hands a little.

"Pick-a-boo! - Alucard lowered the still smoking barrel of his favorite working tool and slowly moved to the corner. - So, kid, you've stirred enough trouble to make some explanations before starting a joyride to Hell. If you want to die quickly instead of being ripped apart without haste, tell me where's your Master."

Silence. The No Life King stopped and tilted his head.

"Come on. It's quite clear that a low level scum like you would never have enough guts, power or knowledge to create all this mess."

Alucard's arm flicked in the air and knocked the knife out of the traitor's hand.

"Answer me, goddammit!"

The fellow couldn't stand the pressure any more. His boyish face turned into a grimace of fear, when he screamed into the emptiness of the house:

"Mistress! Save me!!!"

The shriek seemed to disturb the flames of numerous candles, the only source of light in the room. Shadows in the corners waved, dancing on the row of old portraits on the walls. Victoria's heart made a frantic leap, when one of the paintings seemed to gain its own life. No, it wasn't the portrait. A woman in a long red dress stepped out of the wall to grab the attention of all vampires, gathered in the hall. She was stunningly beautiful... But Seras felt a shiver, running down her spine. The face of the woman was young and smiling, as if being made of delicate Chinese porcelain, but the dark wells of her eyes - eyes of an immortal - held cold and cruel wisdom of a countless years long lifespan.

"My, my. The rumors were true. Brits really managed to domesticate the Dragon himself. - the ironic voice rang melodically as the female vampire regarded the gloves on Alucard' hands. - You've changed... Alucard. Even the name is new..."

Hellsing's main weapon and top secret swirled on his heels and met the woman's gaze:

"Hello, Elisabeth. It has been awhile... You haven't changed at all."

* * *

The lady presented him with a luscious smile: "Is it a compliment?"

"No, just a plain statement. I felt your hand in all this scheme... You could never give up the pleasure of pulling the strings, right?"

"Oh, don't be so rude, dear. I know, it may be awkward for you to face me in your present situation... - Elisabeth tilted her head and pouted prettily. - I had to work a lot to set this meeting up... It was a sheer luck the boy found one of my minions."

Alucard glanced at the soldier darkly, making him press himself into the wall until the aged oak behind his back creaked in protest.

"Found? Or was found?"

"He looked for one of us desperately. Wished to live forever… Well, I've granted this wish - like a kind fairy! - and he completed his part of the pact." - the vampiress laughed. Suddenly she turned to the right, facing Seras. The silk of her dress rustled softly, as she walked up to the girl. Victoria inhaled a hypnotizing scent of Elisabeth's perfume and suddenly felt light-headed. Her knees became weak and eyelids - heavy, when the girl felt the female nosferatu's fingers stroking her cheek.

"So smooth... I admire your taste, Alucard. Will you let me play with your new pet later? - the caressing hand suddenly twitched, leaving a deep scratch on Victoria's skin. Elisabeth snickered, her long tongue flicked, licking away a drop of blood. - What's her name again? I forgot..."

"Her name is Victoria Seras. And she's not a pet. - Alucard gripped his subordinate's arm and dragged her aside. - Get a hold of yourself, Beth. What're you up to?"

"You seem to give me a cold shoulder, darling. - the vampiress narrowed her eyes. - Definitely, you act not the way you did back then. Remember all the fun we had together? That was a fabulous time..."

"Going all sentimental, huh? Aging women are often like that, they say." - Alucard holstered the gun and crossed his hands, smiling coldly.

Elisabeth's mouth twisted in sudden rage. "Don't you dare to tell me... that! - she screamed. - You want me to say it out straight? All right! I was asked... pleaded... By those who you are trained to search and destroy here, Hellsing's hound! That weaklings couldn't put an end to your rampage and now it's a mission of mine! So, choose now - either you stop blocking my curse, let it finish your human masters off and return to your true path with me or... No matter what tricks that pathetic humans taught you, I will not let you out of here alive."

Alucard was silent, deep sarcasm written on his face. The vampiric bee-queen walked up to him and caught hold of the sides of the red trench-coat.

"Tell me! What reasons do you have to become a renegade? To betray not only your own kin, but yourself as well? - Elisabeth stopped shaking the tall figure in front of her and slipped her hands around Alucard's neck. - Freedom is one step away from you! Take it and I'll be by your side as before..."

Alucard didn't move, but these words animated the soldier in the corner, forgotten by everybody. Obviously, he decided that whatever was going to happen in this house soon, he would be safer at some distance from the scene. The farther the better. The vampire masters didn't pay any attention to that, absorbed with their confrontation, but Victoria couldn't let him escape. He had betrayed and killed, he had wounded her, he had helped to put Integra and Walter to the very edge of death... She rose the Beretta, her only weapon after the countdown in the corridor, meticulously aimed at the fellow's head and pulled the trigger. Nothing. A misfire, dammit! The rat sidled to the door already, no time for hesitating. The heavy 9mm Beretta became the main item of a ballistic experiment, being thrown as a boomerang, and hit the traitor's temple as the girl jumped forward, knocking him down. They rolled on the floor, exchanging punches, kicks and blocks, overturning furniture and heavy brass candle stands. The martial skills and vampiric strength of both opponents were roughly balancing each other, so the girl was in disadvantage as anyone, being engaged into a fight with an enemy almost a foot higher and much heavier. She was thrown away to land face down and hear Elisabeth's mocking laughter. "Watch your manners with young ladies, boy!" She nodded in answer to her pawn's begging gaze:

"You may leave. You've competed your task."

Victoria started to get up, propping her body with both hands, when her knee hit something. It was the blessed blade, left and forgotten on the carpet. The ex-policewoman's palm closed at its handle as she sent her body forward at all the speed she could make. Her target turned to her, baring his teeth and throwing his hand towards the girl's face. In a lightning quick move only a desperate vampire could make, Seras dodged the blow and swung the blade, bringing it with tremendous force onto the extended hand of the man. The hand went off cleanly and neatly, being cut a couple of inches below the shoulder joint. Victoria made a dancing sidestep, putting her other hand on the handle and twisting her torso to add momentum to the strike. She brought the knife around at blinding speed to its inevitable rendezvous with her enemy's neck. The force of the swing was so fierce, that the steel seemed to meet no obstacle in its smooth way through the flesh and backbone. The head of the unlucky vampire rolled off his shoulders, making an instant-long eerie sight of the headless body, standing with blood squirting out of the opened carotide. Then it dissipated into a cloud of ash with a soft sighing sound.

"Whoops, looks like his eternal life lasted not that long as he'd expected! - Elisabeth playfully smiled to Alucard, still hanging on him like an exotic necktie. - Your pet is rather naughty."

"The kind fairy doesn't look too concerned about her servant's fate." - Alucard's brows rose a trifle in a mock surprise.

"Why should I? I have lots of them, one more, one less..." - the careless shrug of the vampiress' shoulders was the only epitaph for her deceased pawn.

Alucard's bland gaze moved from Elisabeth's face to the pitiful heap of dust and heavy-breathing Victoria, standing above it, still with the blade in her hand. She looked exhausted and frightened, but still ready to fight. A corner of Master's mouth rose, as he observed his apprentice, heavy breathing and even more disheveled than usual. Still smiling, his lips started to move soundlessly. Elisabeth seemed to understand the idea of the speech well enough, as she jumped away from Alucard with a furious shriek.

"Category A." - sighed Alucard at last, rising his gloved palms to the sides of his head. A shockwave of power rushed from him, his tall figure suddenly blurred, losing its human shape. Victoria drew a shaky breath and caught some movement from the side of her eye. She sharply turned and the appearance of the female nosferatu made her start wishing to wake up from this nightmare. The seductive body in a streaming silk dress wasn't there any more, just a strange shimmer. It was like hot air, dancing above roads in summer, shapeless and wavering; only alebaster-white face and palms with strangely extended fingers shone clearly on it. The shimmer started to twist and expand as a tide of power and concentrated hatred hit Victoria, exploding with blinding pain in her head. Falling into the bliss of unconsciousness, she saw something like a pitch-black hound's form, darting to her and enveloping her body, but she didn't care about anything already. She peacefully floated away into nowhere.

* * *

Something itched her face, getting to the waking nerves. Victoria wrinkled her nose and tried to move away, failing to open her eyes.

"Mmm... Five minutes more, please..." - she murmured, trying to grope for a blanket and pull it over her head, hiding herself from orange light - it was streaming even through her eyelids. – Only five minutes and I'll get up, honestly!"

Her hand touched something fabric-like. Hee, bingo! She pulled the blanket to her nonchalantly.

"Gah! What are you trying to do - choke me, police girl?"

Victoria opened her eyes abruptly. She was cradled in her Master's arms as that night in Cheders but... Oh, joy. Unlike then, her hand was around Alucard's necktie and pulling. He made a face:

"Looks like it becomes a tradition. All the ladies I've ever known try to kill me sooner or later. You started it sooner... Why females are so mean to me?"

"Why don't you go to a shrink to sort it out? - suggested the girl sleepily. – Oedipus complex and all that stuff…"

Her eyes were closing again. The dream with its feeling of warmth and safety was still there and tempting ...

Suddenly Victoria remembered the recent events, twitched and started to fidget. When she managed to look over Alucard's shoulder, she spotted the source of the orange light. They were on a lawn about fifty yards away from a Georgian styled mansion and it was engulfed with flames. Fire roared in all the windows already, sending crackling sparks and thick smoke into the night sky.

"We dropped several candles there. - Alucard turned his head and looked at the fire, his pupils became thin slits. – Good. The fire will do the rest of the cleaning. No traces..."

Victoria silently looked at he Master's face, not daring to ask about the details. She still felt a chill along the spine, remembering the last scene she had seen - the two monsters, maneuvering to start their death match. And she hadn't kept her word, being weak again... To faint on the scene! Uh-oh.

Alucard looked down, having caught the tail of her thoughts, as usual.

"Don't blame yourself, Seras. You can't play in this league so far... She was a decent opponent even for me."

"Who... - the girl hesitated for a moment, - Who was she?"

"Her name was Elisabeth Bathory. A true vampire, one of the strongest. Our paths parted long ago... to cross again like this."

"I think I heard something about her..."

"Perhaps. Humans used to call her Bloody Countess. You can look this name up in Hellsing database or ask Walter..."

"Walter! Lady Integra! - the memory of them motionless and pale despite all the efforts of medics returned to Victoria as a flash. - What's with them? Are they... " The girl trailed off and rummaged the pockets of her dirty and torn uniform.

"Damn, no cell phone!"

Alucard grinned.

"The curse is gone along with its author... As far as I feel, Integra is better already. She must be sleeping now. I'm sure the same goes for Walter. And I doubt any cell phone would've survived through that fight of yours...- suddenly the vampire chuckled. - It was quite a show, cop. I wish I could tape it... And send it to some cable TV as a sample of the new and very effective method against graffiti doodlers. You draw anything in Hellsing-Hall, you get your head chopped off. Heh-heh-heh!"

Victoria shuddered: "I don't need this sort of fame, thank you. Besides, I doubt Lady Integra would be enthusiastic about such an idea..."

"Oh yeah, we'd get a small, but valuable special award from her if tried to pull such a trick... A silver bullet in the head. She's a stern critic when it comes to cable TV..."

Both vampires gazed at the flame again. Distant wails of a siren showed the attention of the local fire brigade to the arsonist activity of Hellsing agents. At last Victoria sighed:

"You know, Master, is it a coincidence or not, but almost every time we get out into the city together the result is a getaway from closing sirens... How shall we withdraw now? The sigil is destroyed..."

"Hah, don't you worry. We aren't lost puppies after all. The moon is beautiful tonight, eh?"

The girl craned her neck and looked up: "Yes, it is... To drive along a quiet highway and listen to romantic songs on the radio - I used to enjoy that at such nights... before."

"Oh, really? Songs... Hm. Why not? Music cures stresses and tension, I heard. - Alucard's grin became really mischievous all of a sudden. - Are you ready for a relaxing getaway trip in my company, cop?"

* * *

Soon after arriving at the scene the police brigade ought to don gas masks due to the unknown toxic components in the smoke from the burned mansion. Evidently there was something in the air, because two firemen suffered from hallucinations of the weirdest kind. The victims described "a huge bat from Hell" or "a bloody Jurassic park pterodactyle" flying over their heads, as they turned around the corner to check the backyard of the mansion. Both firefighters swore that the creature was carrying a shrieking babe and singing "Fly me to the Moon" in deep human voice, periodically interrupting itself with maniacal laughter. No traces of any known hallucinogens were found in their blood probes afterwards, though.

* * *

Author's note a.k.a. mindless midnight blabbing: I heard that introduction of original characters is considered a big no-no in fanfiction writing. It's called Mary Sue something… Peggy Sue? Jenny Sue? Duh, don't remember. Anyway, Elisabeth Bathory was a real person, obsessed with her beauty. She abhorred the very idea of aging, so she killed young girls and bathed in their warm blood to prevent it. God bless plastic surgeons and modern civilization! It makes me wonder what Michael Jackson would have done if he'd lived in Elisabeth's time… Hmm. Mindboggling, eh?

Ms. Bathory is nicknamed Countess Dracula sometimes and I just couldn't stand the temptation to process this hint. I don't expect any legal lawsuits for slander from her anyway… Heh-heh.


	9. Chapter 9

A helicopter pilot and a sentinel soldier stood by the roof railing, looking at the full moon overhead. The night was quiet and beautiful. The pilot's cigarette was flashing and fading in a soothing rhythm, followed by lazy phrases shuttling from one bored Hellsing subordinate to another. Suddenly the pilot stopped in mid-sentence and blinked. He could swear he saw something in the air - a dark thing crossed the moon disc at a weird trajectory and disappeared in the night sky. Naww, just an illusion... He placed a cigarette between his teeth and almost swallowed it, seeing the same strange shape in the air again, but much closer.

"Hey, Randy, look!"

"Heavens, what's that? A bird? An airplane? Or maybe..."

The unidentified flying object darted over their heads again. They could catch a glimpse of huge bat-like black wings and... a pair of nice shaped legs beneath them. Apparently female ones. The legs were kicking wildly.

"Chopper landing pad outpost! An unknown NHB here! It's closing! - the soldier on guard was shouting into his radio already. - I don't know if it's a FREAK... But it's freaky for sure!"

A shriek in the air above his head interrupted the rushed report.

"Waaaah! Master! Stop that! Yes, I've got what aerobatics is already! Nooo!!!"

"Stop whining, cop. It's fun, admit that! Bwahaha! Now, we'll make a barrel..."

"I'm air-sick! Throwing up is no fun at all! Stoooop!"

"Well, all right, party pooper. I'll show you how to make a proper aileron roll next time..."

The airborne silhouette softly landed on the empty chopper lot and turned out to be the two notorious Trash Cleaning Division employees.

"Thank you for flying with "Alucard and Co" airlines. Now you may unbuckle your belts." - Alucard grinned widely and released his grip on Victoria's waist. She staggered and almost fell on her rear side.

"Only cars from now on... Or trains... Only by land, like decent people do..." - mumbled the girl, trying to focus her eyes. The moon was going in wide circles above her head and she was pretty sure it wasn't an astronomic phenomenon.

Alucard chuckled mercilessly: "Decent people of our kin do fly, you know."

Victoria didn't bother to answer, just gave an evil eye to her Master. Sometimes he was... Alucard chuckled again, showing that her thoughts were clear enough to be read at the common level of their master-servant bond.

"Tsk-tsk... How very unladylike, cop. To use such words… Shame on you."

The older vampire scowled, trying to show all the pious disapproval he desperately lacked - the corner of his mouth was curving up treacherously. The black wings behind his back casually folded and melted into the red fabric of his trench coat. Alucard stretched and calmly looked around, ignoring the stunned rookies, who watched the scene cautiously from the roof's edge. The cigarette was still burning in the half-opened mouth of the pilot, quite forgotten by him. The soldier beside looked at the nosferatu with the round eyes of a surprised sheep. Fergusson's worried inquiries from the communicator on his shoulder were passing by his ears without any reaction.

"Let's go and visit the patients, Victoria. Hm, I wonder if they are awake already..." The vampire turned on his heels and headed to the exit. His apprentice followed, sending an apologetic glance and shrug to the men. They automatically nodded in answer, watching the undead disappearing behind the door. The silence wasn't broken until the girl started to shut the door behind her, but her ears caught the beginning of the pilot's whispered musings about vampires, their curious nature and habits, and their recent influence on his nerves. The speech was made in the best army style and a greenish tinge on Victoria's face turned into an angry blush. She snapped open the door, making the man choke in the middle of an elaborated rant, involving Alucard, his mother, blood, hell, shit and another dubious ingredients. For a moment the two stared at each other across the helipad. When the pause became unbearable, Victoria shook her head and gestured in the direction of the forgotten communicator:

"Tsk, tsk... Answer Fergusson already!"

Running down the stairs, she touched her lips to feel a carefree smile on them. She smiled like this for the first time since she had talked to Lady Integra. Ages ago, it seemed... Victoria started to jump three steps a time to catch up with Master.

* * *

Victoria quietly stepped back from the narrow aisle between the beds and the stands of medical equipment and tiptoed to the exit. Her retreat was left unnoticed by the other inhabitants of the ward - Integra and Walter slept, Dr. Trawelian and a nurse kept an eye on screens with vital characteristics, exchanging quiet phrases from time to time, and Master... He stood at the wall with his arms crossed on the chest, silently watching the sleeping face of Lady Hellsing. His eyes' expression hidden behind the sunglasses again, the face blank... Deeply absorbed in thoughts... He was like that since they had come in and Dr. Trawelian had informed them about the current state of his patients - out of coma, but weak and exhausted. According to the doctor, both Integra and Walter had had strange simultaneous fits some time ago, after which they regained consciousness. Severe pain had been gone, so the medics considered a portion of lightly sedated sleep to be the best cure in such a case. This turn of events assured Victoria that the crisis was over and a huge weight finally fell off her soul. They succeeded... Time to take care of herself at last.

Stepping back into the underground chamber of hers and mopping the still wet hair with a towel, the girl scowled at her uniform, sprawled on the coffinated bed. Hah. The more exact description of this smoke and blood-reeking heap was 'the pitiful remnants of her uniform'. How does Master manage to keep his clothes neat after all that messy encounters he always gets involved into? Do his clothes regenerate along with his body? Hm, basically it means that his clothes are... a part of his body? Victoria's hand stopped its repetitive movement along her hair, as its owner plopped on the bed, being preoccupied with a new thought. A part of his body - how handy! He can 'grow' any clothes he wants! Whoa! Wait-wait-wait... Sooo, if the clothes are the part of his body, then... Master walks around naked?! No, he's nakedness is well disguised with what seems to be his outfit... Then, what difference does it make to the common wearing of clothes? Oh, hell... Why everything about her Master is so damn complicated?

"You know, Seras, if I hadn't kept an eye on you all the time recently, I'd have said that you sucked dry all the blood from a stoned junkie... Judging by the flow of your thoughts." - came a sudden statement from the back of Victoria's mind.

"Eh? Uh-oh... - Victoria realized that her thoughts had been intercepted again and swiftly sat up. - Master! You did it again! It's... It's absolutely wrong!"

"Wrong? – the voice chuckled. - Agreed. I have called to say that you are needed upstairs. Now. And what do I hear, eh, police girl?"

"Er... - Victoria preferred to change the topic. - Why do you need me upstairs? I thought we are off duty now..."

"We are never really off duty. As for now, someone has to be at the phone in Integra's office in case of emergency. Go there, answer the calls, take notes and tell them that lady Hellsing is extremely busy and will return the call later. Understood?"

"Yes, Master. - Seras sighed, getting used to the idea of no rest. - Anything else?"

"Yes. In order to achieve the proper working atmosphere in Integra's office… changing into something more appropriate wouldn't hurt."

Victoria quickly glanced at the towel that supposed to be wrapped around her body. At the current moment the damned thing was enthusiastically role playing a wide belt.

"Ack!!!"

* * *

Seras smoothly slid through the layers of stone, lead and oak, stepping out of the wall of the locked Integra's office. It was silent and lifeless, the sharp geometrical pattern of black and white tiles on the floor softened with ghostly moonlight carpets. The lighting provided with the 'vampires' sun' was quite enough to see the tiniest details around, even to read, but Victoria turned on the desk lamp, following the human behavior pattern, still too vivid in her habits. She walked around the vast desk, hesitated for a moment and meekly seated herself into Integra's chair. Despite everything, she still felt almost like an intruder... The girl put her hands on the desk, resembling the stiff pose of a nervous kid at the very first day of elementary school. Time oozed as thick syrup, squares of moonlight on the floor crept to the wall inch by inch, changing their angles... Nothing was happening. Victoria's eyelids became heavy as if made of lead. She fidgeted in the chair, trying to shoo the soft but invincible tide of sleepiness away. Not much success... A helpless look at the reason of her suffering, the phone with specially scrambled line, ran into a small box beside. Lady Hellsing's infamous cigars... The box was half opened, being apparently thrown in haste and a few brown cylinders of tobacco stuck out invitingly. A weird idea came into Victoria's head. _Hope Lady Integra wouldn't mind... And it's not like lung cancer threats the undead's health anyway... Anything to help not to fall asleep here is supposedly OK..._ The fingers of the fallen non-smoker closed on a cigar.

Fifteen minutes later Victoria felt much more at ease and anything but sleepy anymore. The second cigar was cheerfully emanating blue tresses of smoke into her mouth and the girl caught herself on humming a simple motive of a song she had heard on radio not so long before her death. Her body was so light... So weightless, it would probably fly like a balloon - if only she pushed the floor with her toes oh so lightly... She jumped up and swayed, as the room floated around her. So funny! She giggled, chewing the cigar's end. Victoria couldn't stand on one place, so she steered herself around the desk, turning off the electric light, suddenly so annoying with its fakeness. The wide beam of moonlight bathed the fragile frame of the young undead, flooding her soul with joy. For the first time the newborn vampire felt the pure peasure of being the child of the night. Swirling around, she spotted the blink of reflection on the black surface of a stereo system in the corner. Bingo! Music started to flow softly through the ancient room, making Victoria sing along with it. A worried purring of the phone suddenly cut into the wave of sounds and the girl halted and to leapt on the device as a cat on a mouse.

"Hello? Hellsing residence here!"

"Hello? - the masculine voice had a little electronic echo, as it happens sometimes in the long distance calls. - My name is Bernadotte. Mr. Dornez left me a message, telling to call him as soon as everything is ready. Can I talk to him now?"

"Uh... Sorry, but he's in bed right now..." - Victoria hurriedly picked up a sheet of paper to make a note and almost started to write with a cigar butt, still clenched in her right hand. This attempt made her utter a snicker and a muttered "Oops.".

"Oh. - a short pause followed, filled with the sounds of music from Hellsing side and vague distant voices and mechanical hum from the caller's side. - I was told to contact Sir Integral Hellsing, if Mr. Dornez is unawailable. Would you please call him to the phone, miss?"

"But she's sleeping, along with Walter... - Victoria recalled Master's instructions and panically tried to improve the situation. - Uh, I mean they both are really busy now! Can you leave the message? She'll return your call as soon as possible!"

"She?" - Mr. Bernadotte was clearly puzzled. Another pause fell.

"The message, please?" - Victoria did her best to sound businesslike, turning a pen in her fingers and oppressing a sudden fit of reasonless giggling. It was so strange... Heh. Heh-heh! Are there any more cigars in the pack?

"All right. Please, tell them that the team of mercenaries is ready. We'll go by the next commercial flight if the list of contracts is approved. When can I contact your superiors, miss? It's kind of an urgent matter."

"Um..." - Victoria's mind analyzed the information she had got from Dr. Trawelian and volunteered with "Tomorrow, I guess." and another idiotic snicker.

"All right, I'll call back. Bye." - as Mr. Bernadotte was hanging the phone on the other end, Victoria heard the trailing "Looks like we're going to a fucking weird place, guys... That Hellsing..."

"Heh... You bet. – chuckled his future undead co-worker, settling the phone back on its place. - Waaay more, than you could ever expect."

* * *

"Don't quote me, but you have your point here." - Master's head poke through the wall, horribly reminding a stuffed animal's head, which some proud hunters nail around in their homes, truly believing it to be beautiful. Victoria's loose imagination immediately decorated Alucard's head with wide deer's horns and several raincoats, hanging on them as on a peg. A wide smile spreaded on her face and she quickly clasped it with both hands. Master looked at her intently and moved out of the wall, breaking the association. Having crossed the room in a few wide paces, he surveyed the full ash-tray, working stereo system, a pretty flower border, drawn around the single word "Bernadotte" on the paper in front of Victoria. Alucard's brow rose. His subordinate was still covering her face with her hands, but a shining red eye looked at him through the tangle of fingers and blond strands with merry curiosity.

"Priceless. - broke he the silence at last. - Good grief, you've chosen the police instead of an office career, Seras. You are a real disaster as a secretary."

The wide opened eye blinked, merriness in it faded, being replaced with worry. The girl's fingers slowly slipped down from her cheeks. With ironic amusement Master watched emotions changing each other on his apprentice's face. She was always so transparent, when it came to this... He could read her face as an opened book without any bond powers, connecting their minds. Alucard would have despised and mocked such simplicity in any other vampire or human but... Oddly enough, but this feature even appealed to him in this case, appealed from the very beginning when he had seen the flurry of emotions on this face in Cheders' woods. Sometimes he had asked himself when the fate of an immortal being would change this naivety at last. Somehow, this time another thought came into his mind - would he really like the change?

"I... I remember everything that mercenary... Mr. Bernadotte... said! - protested Victoria hurriedly, jumping up from the chair, - I'll report his call word in word as soon as Walter or Lady Integra wake up!" Suddenly her legs became unsteady again and she ducked her head and gripped the edge of the desk to let her coordination return to normal.

"Still feeling high, eh? - Master's question was quite unexpected. The girl glanced up to see a wide grin of her senior. He chuckled. - No wonder. Haven't you known that?"

"Known what?" - the dialogue was downright weird, if anybody'd asked Victoria's opinion.

"Cigars. Haven't you known that some smells mean trouble for vampires? Garlic, for example. Never hang around any place where it is cooked, Celes, or you'll feel much more sick than after a whole night of aerobatics."

"Uh-huh, I heard about garlic, but..."

"Cigars are another matter, so it's not so well known among humans. - Alucard was obviously fond of lecturing, sitting on the corner of the desk and elaborating. - They work as a light drug, making vampires feel high and therefore lose control a bit. Or not a bit. It depends."

"Oh..." - was all the unfortunate smoker could say. She felt increasingly stupid.

"Besides, you've never smoked as a human, right?"

"R-right..."

"Heh. And an empty stomach too. You are pretty tough, considering all the facts. Here." - the vampire dug in the pockets of his red coat and fished out a pack of medical blood. - Actually, I dropped in here not to let you miss your lunch. You need more nutriments now to regenerate that holy blade wounds."

Victoria tentatively took the pack. As she was unfolding a plastic pipe on the top of it, a sudden idea stroke her.

"Master, did lady Integra... um... know about cigars, when she started to smoke them?"

"Well, maybe... I suppose she was just desperate to copy her father in all his ways - he had smoked a lot too. - Alucard pulled out another pack of blood and looked at it with an air of satisfaction. - Ha! I'm starving too... But even if she knew about cigars, she's not aware that I'm kind of immune to them, so her attempt to... er... cheer me up would never influence me."

"Oh, really?" - Victoria recalled Alucard's constant chuckles, smirks, snickers and mere laughing out loud and seriously doubted this statement. Her musings about Master's possible "feeling funny" time span were rudely interrupted with the phone. The girl motioned to pick it up, but Alucard's arm stopped her.

"I'll take it now. At least, this call will be answered properly for sure. - Alucard smiled and waved his hand. - Eat, watch and learn."

The ex-policewoman obediently leaned back in the chair and started to sip the blood, looking at the older vampire with slightly offended eyes. Alucard set his tie straight, picked up the phone and pronounced in an oh-so-pleasant voice:

"Hello. It's Hellsing institution. May I help you?"

The tube squeaked something incomprehensible in an angry man's voice. Alucard instantly lost his refined tone, as his lips crooked in an extremely nasty grin:

"Nice to hear you too, swine."

Victoria almost suffocated, having choked with her late lunch.


	10. Chapter 10

The meal eventually got into Victoria nose and due to the snorting and coughing session she missed a part of the further pleasantries' exchange between the vampire and his mysterious animalistic opponent. When she looked up at last, the 'Hellsing's answering service' said:

"So, you've called to warn us that she has come to England? Yeah, that woman was always pretty fond of tourism..."

The tube squeaked again. Victoria's ears pricked up, but the music from the stereo interfered, making the caller's words inaudible. She frowned, not seeing the remote anywhere around. The curiosity was strong enough, though, so she stood up and walked to the corner to turn the noisy thing off. Meanwhile Alucard kept chatting casually.

"Even so? Anderson is dispatched to the same mission? Haa, that means that you've fixed your cutlery freak already... And got him a new brain too! He's got a really nice pit crew…"

"Tell the damn crew to check the wiring in that so called brain of his..." - muttered Victoria gloomily from her corner. The idea of the crazy priest, lurking around again, didn't make her as anxious as her Master. He reacted as a kid, being told that Santa would visit him personally to give presents and a free ride in his sledge... Jeez. Some association... No smoking from now on!

"Well, I'll let my Master know about your call. Pretty scared by ickle little Elisabeth, aren't you, Maxwell? You've described her as a new version of Lucifer, upgraded with... - Alucard quickly glanced at his pouting apprentice, still standing on the opposite side of the spacy room, - ...a pair of nice breasts. Mwahaha!"

The answer was a clicking sound, followed with a queue of short beeps from the phone tube.

"Hah! Hanged up! Why, that Iscariots have no manners at all...Romans never change!" - Alucard looked both annoyed and amused, putting the handset down and turning to Seras. She avoided commenting "the proper way to answer phone calls" so far, being too upset with the news.

"He said father Anderson is alive again? - asked the girl with a vague hope that she had misunderstood something. - And who's that Elisabeth? Not the one we..."

"Yes and yes. - Master got up and put his hands into pockets, leaning to the desk and crossing his legs. - Old boy Anderson is less vulnerable than I expected. And Maxwell was generous enough... or rather alarmed enough to warn Hellsing about the mischievous countess we've visited tonight. Why hadn't he done that earlier... Yesterday, at least. Damn, it's really strange, usually their intelligence works much faster..."

"But... But why haven't you told him about... You've killed her, right?"

"Yeah, but why don't let Integra inform the Iscariots about that? A little bit later... It would cheer her up, believe me. - Alucard smirked. - Another occasion to foul Maxwell's mood is always cherished here in Hellsing."

"And what about father Anderson?!"

"So, what about him? If he comes over to play - fine with me. I can take care of our dear guest anytime... Heh-heh."

Victoria silently pursed her lips and turned away, staring blankly at the wall. The memories of the maniacal high-pitched laughter, the ultimate hatred in the green eyes, gleaming behind the glasses... the burning pain in her throat, when the blessed blade had run it through... made her shiver. She absent-mindlessly passed her hand along the ornament, carved on the polished oak of the wall panel. The touch of the smooth and cool surface was reassuring, returning her back into the safety of the present reality. At the same moment she gasped, looking as a faint white figure walked out of the wall and through her fingers.

She shakily lifted her hand and it passed through the torso of the figure without any resistance. It was a young man, looking like a Japanese; he smiled and nodded to her. That was really too much. Victoria's heart leaped forward and banged against her sternum, asking to be let out. Away! As far away from this as possible, to the place where it's safe! Her reflexes obeyed, launching the girl's body back, while she was still staring at the phantom. Her shoulder hit the forgotten stereo stand behind and Seras whimpered, desperately trying to stop and not to knock the fragile electronics down onto the stone floor. Suddenly the world around blinked. An instant of swirling darkness and her heels hit the floor a foot from the huge brown boots' toes. Victoria flailed her arms helplessly, trying to realize how she had happened to be there and what the hell was going on and fell forward, dragged by momentum. With a loud thud the old massive desk received the weight of a new desktop item and screeched a few inches along the floor. The forementioned item was a perplexed young vampire on top of her Master.

* * *

Seras slowly pulled her head from under Alucard's lower jaw, stunned with the recent events, and heard a double snicker. The first one emerged from beneath her - she even could feel the vibration of Master's chest, - the second sound came across the room from the spot she had left a second ago. She turned her head in panic and saw the half-transparent dude by the stereo. Phew! Lady Integra's property managed to stay on its stand safely at least… Meanwhile the man got glasses on his nose and started scribbling something in a note-pad, glancing at the deskscape and snickering.

"W-who's that?" - inquired the girl, being not able to take her eyes off the surreal sight. Alucard snorted.

"Hellsing's resident ghost, who else? Don't sweat, cop, he wouldn't bite you! - the older vampire laughed again. - You should see your face! Priceless!"

"A-and what is he d-doing?"

"Just hanging around usually, and making sketches from time to time. Don't ask me why. I tried to talk to him once, but all I got was a bow and something like "Hiranokotades" and "Eroshiku". Beats me what it could mean."

"Uh-huh..." - Seras was still dumbfounded, watching as the ghost made a peace sign with a hand, still holding a pencil, and dissolved in the air.

"By the way, do you know what you have just done?" - a question sounded seriously now and, looking back, Victoria met an intent stare of the red eyes a few inches from her face. She felt awkward a bit and the feeling greatly increased, as she noticed at last that her left hand was under Alucard's back and the right one - under his forearm. As for Master's hands, they rested peacefully on her waist and shoulders from the very moment of their fall and this fact didn't seem to bother him at all.

"Um... Freaked out? I'm sorry..." - mumbled the girl, blushing violently at the realization that her whole body was pressed against her Master's one. The dull warmth of it, too faint for a human but quite sensible for a fellow vampire, was messing with her thoughts. Despite this, she carefully rejected any ideas about moving away, hushing them and her pounding heart. Shyness surrendered in the battle with the growing heat of this accidental embrace.

"This one too. - Alucard smiled. - But, actually, I was talking about the way you got here. I would never believe it can happen so soon."

The large eyes of his apprentice looked confused, so he went on: "The breakthrough. You were able to teleport. Usually it takes much more time to be able to perform such things, and much more additional requirements."

"Like what?"

"Like more drinking blood. Preferably fresh one, not the canned substitute we get here."

The confusion, written in capital letters on the face of the young vampire, changed into the fear of understanding under Alucard's scanning look.

"Yes, the truth is that we usually gain power from the vital energy. It's quite natural, Integra understands that. She let me feed on that reporter girl, after all... But this way is not for you yet, huh, little tiptoeing coward? It was hard enough to make you drink even medical blood... - Suddenly Victoria felt Alucard's hand, moving from her shoulders to her neck, caressing it. Its weight made her head go closer to her Master's face. His smiling lips moved, making her feel his breath on her mouth. - Could it be, that a wee bit of smoking plus a little surprise is your anti-block therapy recipe? Some barriers of yours have crumpled tonight..."

"Yes, Master..." - were the last muttered words before their lips met.

* * *

This time was not like the one before. Their lips worked together for a few instances to lock into a deeper kiss. After a second of hesitation her tongue slided alongside his, curving, probing, occasionally feeling the neat arc of his teeth with the sharp spikes of fangs... Her hands slipped from under her Master's body to caress his forearms, relax... Start their eager exploring along his body, tracing the way from the torso to the pale skin of neck and face, descended again to dig into the layer of clothes, suddenly so annoying in their presence between her fingers and the warmth, being radiated by the body underneath. Her senior's hand moved to the back of the girl's head, lightly clenching a handful of golden wisps, as the other hand held her back, making their bodies lean against each other tighter... Victoria felt as the gloved fingers passed the curve of her hip, teasing the soft skin between the skirt and stockings' edge and her body responded, making the girl coo lightly in her kiss as her hip rocked against the nuzzling hand. Her body started to tilt sideways, she fidgeted and quickly wrapped her leg around her master's long thigh, pulling herself closer. She wouldn't have traded this occasion for all the treasures of the world; the red haze of desire, wonder, terror, joy, disbelief, longing for more was ultimately possessing. Alucard's hand trailed from the back of her head along the neck to the high collar of her uniform; easily undid it and the fabric of the shirt rustled, wrinkling and slipping down under a fondling hand all the way down the shoulder blade and forearm. The skin underneath shone softly, looking like mother of pearl in the moonlight. The shirt was en route to the middle of the back, Victoria's heart hammered so loudly, that it was almost deafening her. Maybe that was the reason... Neither of them ever noticed the footfalls until bright electric light fell from the ceiling like a guillotine and a familiar voice pronounced:

"Yes, the door is unlocked. Please, come over immediately...Not by phone, dear, I'll remedy your curiosity as soon as you... Lord almighty! What are you doing here, you two?!"

Victoria jerked back as if had just touched a live wire. Her only consolation was the fact that her Master swiftly sat up too, still holding the girl in his lap, and glared at Walter, standing by the door with a cell phone in his hand. Butler's eyes almost beat his trademark monocle in size.

"Sitting on the phone in case of emergency, as one of the two sleeping beauties in the ward had asked me to do. Just before turning on the other side to resume his snoring." - Alucard had the 'just-you-dare-to-comment' look, as he presented a fanged smile to the butler. The combination of the glare and the smile could have easily made Conan the Barbarian hide himself in a corner and cry for mommy, but the retired Angel of death was made of a much tougher material. His gaze keenly surveyed the scenery, narrowing at the phone cord, snaking from under the flap of Alucard's coat. Walter's brow furrowed.

"Yes, I recall something like that. But you never tended to follow my words so literally before... Oh well. How fabulously obedient of you, indeed."

The butler slightly bowed to Victoria, as if had just noticed her. "Good night, Miss Victoria. Or rather good morning. The down will be in an hour, I believe." - the old man politely looked into the window as the blushing girl put her uniform in order. If speed dressing had ever got into the Olympic games' official list, Seras would have become a doubtless world champion - in case vampires were allowed to compete, of course. As the girl slipped out of his hands in haste to button the shirt and push it back under the belt, Alucard returned to his previous stance - he leaned against the desk with his arms and legs crossed and silently watched the process of returning the policewoman's uniform to its official exterior. Still observing the dark sky in the window, Walter suddenly uttered a strange muffled grunt. The sound repeated and he lowered his head and braced himself with both hands, as his shoulders began to shake.

"Walter, what's happened? - Victoria ran up to the old man and saw that his face was red and he was biting his lips. - Are you feeling unwell again?"

"No. - the butler's voice was... choking? He looked down at his shoes' toes, as if not willing to meet Victoria's gaze. - I'm fine. Would you please excuse us now, Miss Victoria, I have to talk to your master... It's a personal matter."

The girl turned to her master with a hesitating look. He grudgingly shrugged, eyeing Walter with an air of utter suspicion, and nodded.

* * *

As soon as the door behind the policewoman clicked closed, Walter stopped to restrain himself and burst into unstoppable laughter. He stumbled to the nearest chair and collapsed there, wiping his tears and glancing at rather irritated Alucard between the squalls of joy.

"Stop that nonsense and tell me what is all that about at last! – less than a minute passed and nosferatu's patience manifested its limits already. He walked up to Walter and bent to see his face. - Is it a hysteria?"

"N-no... - the man in the chair managed to quit laughing for awhile . - It's a p-payback time! God must have rewarded me with it at last!"

"Your next reward will be the Pearly Gates' Customs interview. I mean it. Either another cardiac arrest or me - one of these will inevitably deliver you there, unless you stop this moronic cackling."

Little by little Walter converted his laughter into a broad smile and occasional fits of snickering. Alucard pulled a chair to Walter's, sat there and waited his old partner to calm down. When silence fell at last, his deep voice sounded dangerously soft:

"Mind to explain the payback part?"

"Naturally not. I dreamed about this moment for more than fifty years... Albeit it seemed an almost no percentage chance till recently. Do you remember all the dates of mine you ruined, hanging down from the ceiling or elsewhere and peeping, giving smart comments and advices later? Hah! As if I needed advices!"

"How petty. And to think I did that for your own good... - Alucard rolled his eyes in half-hearted indignance. - Believe me, Walter, there's no need to refresh my memories of the arrogant brat you were then. They are quite vivid... Alas."

"Praying for memory gaps? I'm honored. - the former Angel of death bowed and added a significant amount of poison into his smirk. - No, my friend, Alzheimer or amnesia - they are not for you. It's tough to be a vampire sometimes."

Alucard just snorted and raised his brow: "So, what has brought you here in the first place, Avenging Angel?"

"Curiosity. I wanted to hear your version of the recent events. Besides, I've decided to change shifts here and summoned my assistant from the Investigations Division, she should arrive soon." - the butler picked up the monocle, being dropped into his lap while he had laughed, and looked through it at a big clock by the wall.

"Ah, that redhead lady? You've chatted quite sweetly with her... So, Doc doesn't let you run at large for long yet, huh?"

"Yes, he wants to make a complete examination again... Says that the case has been very serious and I need to be medically monitored for more. I've hardly persuaded him to let me go and take care of things for a while - Dr. Trawelian is rather stubborn."

"As all of us here. Argue with him more and he can easily ban you from your activities due to the health state while Integra will surely support him. She worries about you, you know. - Alucard's gleefully winked to his old buddy, - Just imagine - no more prancing with strings or pulling them! You should start thinking about some new hobbies to kill the time - knitting, ceramics, chess or whatever retired humans are into. It really sucks to be an aging mortal sometimes."

"To each - his own, I believe." - the stares of red and green eyes crossed like lightsabers. This argument was more than fifty years long too. At last Alucard crooked his lips and shrugged.

"Your fatalistic attitude might give one pause."

"I keep my paws to myself... - Walter chuckled. - Which is more than you can say tonight."

"Still celebrating, huh? All right, enjoy. By the way, I believe I hear your helper's heels clattering in the corridor already... Hurry, tell me until she's here - is she your girlfriend?"

"Keep your long nose to yourself too... Oh, good morning! - Walter got up to greet a young woman, whose black-clad figure appeared in the doorframe. She looked a bit sleepy, but her face beamed with a bright smile, as she saw her boss. - How nice of you to come so quickly."

Alucard lazily rose too, observing the two humans from his height with a mischievous glint in his eyes. This expression was exactly the same as when the damned undead had used to pop out of the walls like an oversized gopher and toss profoundly unwelcomed remarks about young Walter's relationships. Almost always they had been delivered to the victim with all the tactful behavior of a paparazzi from Hell... Walter's brow twitched. He sharply turned to the vampire:

"You are free now. And you have some errands to run elsewhere, don't you?"

"Sure thing. - the grin, plastered on Alucard's face, clearly stated that he was about to return to the old drill. - One of them is escorting a certain workaholic butler back to the tenacious hands of medics. We're going to have some smut to duscuss on our way there..."

Now it was Walter's turn to cast cremating glares, but the vampire didn't seem to give a damn about it, keeping the grin on in its nastiest mode.

"You are an evil creature, after all." – sighed Walter and shrugged.

* * *

Victoria walked deeper and deeper into the spacious dungeons under the Hellsing mansion. They seemed much older than the main building above, grinding the ground with tentacles of gloomy passages, their monotony broken with countless turns and doors. The ancient grey masonry seemed surprisingly dry, considering the fact that the place was more than thirty yards below the surface... But dampness still existed somewhere, as the local electric wiring constantly suffered with shortcuts and blackouts. The last one hadn't been fixed yet. Victoria's footfalls rang against the stone floor, as echo of her steps dived into the black ink of air, flooding the underground maze. She had undertaken this walk to work out adrenaline and calm down a bit. The effect of smoking was wearing out but... It still seemed to affect her mind a great deal - the messed thoughts and emotions didn't wish to be shelved, darting in her mind like a wind-driven deck of cards. Suddenly she closed her eyes and leaned to a wall, pressing the burning forehead to the chilly stone. Her fist clenched and struck the wall above her head, as a helpless groan found its way into the surrounding darkness and silence: "Why do I always wind up staying alone?! Why does it hurt so much?!"

This was the ace of trumps from the top of the deck. The young vampire didn't open her eyes, just let her body follow the gravity to the floor. She sat there, tightly pulled her bent legs to the chest with both hands and tried to analyze the situation. She had been sent away so casually... Actually, without a word. Like a maid... Victoria put her chin on the knees, sighing and puffing away unruly bangs from her nose. Oh, yeah, she had definitely opened Pandora's box recently... And hope seemed to stay on the bottom of the bloody package.

Brooding about whose fault it is that uncertainty and unfairiness are so deeply vowen into the pattern of the world and how to get to the sorry ass of the culprit was dismissed with a peculiar tingling of Victoria's senses. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around in worry. Nothing except lifeless stone. But... She couldn't point her finger on which of her senses had bothered to alarm the others, still she was sure like hell that something or someone very careful about keeping the stealth mode on was moving out there. Closing... sniffing at her... watching.

In a second the girl was on her feet, her back to the wall, her hand desperately clasping the belt for a weapon. Haa, and who had sworn to herself to carry a gun around everywhere and everytime just about a dozen hours ago? Brainless idiot is the answer, along with the reflection in a mirror... Arrgh. Seras made a sharp intake of breath and started to move backwards carefully, scanning the stone-clad passages for any danger. Was it a prank of a tight-rope state of nerves or she had just spotted some motion by the next crossing? Victoria didn't dare to go and check it out. Her room was maybe a few hundred yards behind, and if she managed to get there... Well, the Harconnen gun in the umbrella stand there meant a bit higher level of security for its owner. Step by step... Mere two hundred yards were like a marathon distance. When the heavy door creaked behind Victoria's back, the girl leaned against it for a moment to wipe beads of sweat on the forehead as her other hand was reaching for the monstrous result of Walter's engineering ingeniusness.

With the loaded Harconnen in her hands and a few extra shells, stuck under the waist belt just in case, Victoria exhaled deeply and muttered "Armed and dangerous!" with a nervous giggle. All the candles she had been able to find in her cupboard were burning on the table and on the floor of the room, providing an additional portion of lighting to the dark corridor through the doorframe. Together with the vampiric night vision it should be helpful... The barrel of the sniper cannon protruded into the corridor and started lurking for any signs of hostility. Advancing along the corridor, the girl meticulously looked into every corner. Only dust there. Hm. At last she stopped on the crossing she had withdrawn from a few minutes ago and made a full circle, glaring around. The place looked most innocent, plain bare stone without any traces and no odd feelings or whatever. What's the hell?! Was that just a reasonless panic attack? Uh-oh. The question of the day: could a vampire become a nervous wreck? Faint vertical line of worry appeared between Victoria's eyebrows, as she looked around for the last time and marched back to the orange rectangle of light, marking the entrance to her quarters.

Having stepped into the room, Victoria squinted in the candlelight, so bright after the velvet mildness of black and grey shades in the dungeons outside. She quickly turned her back to the candles to let her eyes adapt to the illumination, slammed the door and decisively shot the bolt.

"Good idea."

Seras leaped a foot in the air, spinning around to look at the source of the remark. Her master stood by the wall with folded arms and looked at her, flame dancing in the red ancient eyes on the pale face of the eternally thirty years old. Victoria suddenly found herself scrambling for firm footing in more ways than one.

"Master..." - she didn't know what to say further and just tightened her grip on the Harconnen, raising it and setting the weapon into its nest.

"If you were going to practice shooting here you should think better, though. The ceiling of the dungeon might collapse after a few well placed shots."

"N-no, I've just... – any explanation of her recent behavior felt painfully stupid. - I walked in the corridors when it seemed to me... Well... I had a strong feeling that somebody was there. Or something. A moving object. I'm not sure, but... This is the only weapon I have here and I wouldn't have used high-explosive or cumulative ammo!"

Alucard raised his brow and tilted his head for a few seconds, as if listening to something inaudible. Then a pleased smile spread on his face: "A strong feeling, huh? Good for you, but that creature is not an enemy for us. Vice versa, I'd say..."

She waited it to be continued, but her Master didn't seem to be interested in the topic any more. She didn't push it, suddenly feeling deadly tired of all the secrets and mysteries, piling around since the moment she had gone to Chaders mission. It had been a bad trip indeed... Suddenly it hit her: that had been precisely what it had been. No acid involved, but somehow it was a really, really bad trip. All the nightmares and... in some sense she hadn't even survived it, after all.

The girl raised her gaze on Alucard's face and met his eyes, keenly surveying her. The pause grew tense and a minute later Victoria couldn't stand it any more:

"So, err... Have you talked to Walter? Is it something serious?"

"Serious? Hah! That Walter... Him being a mortal is a waste. The human would have made a great vampire, considering his character. - The No Life King sighed and unfolded his arms, walking up to the girl. - Listen, Seras… Victoria. I'm going to tell you one thing - for your... and my sanity sake, as our minds are linked, whether we want that or not."

Towering above Victoria, Alucard stopped and lifted his arms, pulling a sigilled glove off his right palm. The now bare cool fingers lay on the side of the girl's neck as the thumb passed her lower lip.

"You are not a toy for me. Remember that."

Two shadows on the candlelit stone wall simultaneously moved towards each other to become one. Somewhere high above the first subtle rays of the new dawn touched the gables of Hellsing.

* * *

Author's note: hello, it's me again! First thing first: about the request to change Alucard into Arucard in this story... Well, you see, I find this question arguable, because both Hirano Kota's manga and the anime Hellsing are hinting at the fact that Alucard is really Dracula, caught and tamed by Integra's ancestor. So, it's quite logical (oh, I love this word!) to presume that he inverted the name of his new pet as a symbol of the inversion of Alucard's functions and goals. And as for Japanese lacking the "L" sound - I'm aware of that, but Alucard is by all means a European, therefore his name must have roots in some European language (and all of them have this sound in their alphabets). You don't insist on calling Integral Hellsing Integuraru Herushingu just because in Japanese it sounds this way, right? So why should Dracula become Dracura all of a sudden? Cop Captor Dracura, heh-heh... Never mind. I may be dreadfully wrong, of course, but logics works this way for me... If there's another reason to call Alucard Arucard except the fact that most Japanese have troubles with pronunciation of "L", please, let me know.

Anyway, here's another chapter of The Chronicles. It's a little bit longer than my usual portions of writing exercises, but it has been raining like hell all this weekend and I've had nothing to do but to speculate which piece of furniture would do for a raft better in case we have a flood - my choice would be the kitchen table, btw - and to write this fic.

P.S. I love and respect Hirano Kota for his sense of humor and artistic style, presented in his manga 'Hellsing'. Hope, he wouldn't sue me for expressing this love by making him Hellsing-Hall resident ghost... But as the percentage of him being ever aware of my existence is pure and elegant zero, I'm kinda relieved about the odds of any lawsuit.

P.P.S. Is it just me or Walter K. Dornez really looks like an anime version of Sean Connery?


	11. Chapter 11

After what seemed to be eternity something started to clear up. The bright dot of light ripped the rotten cape of chaos, turned into a star, spreading its spikes to the limbo, revving up the realization that all that had been not real... The armored plates of darkness swirled and rolled aside, as Dr. Trawelian's serious face floated into the vision range.

"Do you understand me, Sir Integral?"

"Ummpff... - The throat was dry like an old rusty pipe and ached. Integra blinked and absently wondered what the doctor was doing in her bedroom. - Dr. Trawelian..." She squeezed her eyelids shut and opened them again, narrowing the eyes to see the sunlit surroundings better. Not her bedroom? Late morning or even noon? What's going on?

"Here are your spectacles, Lady Integra." Walter's hand gently put the gold-rimmed frame into Integra's awaiting fingers, she sat up and slipped the glasses on her nose. The bleary picture swayed, steadied and started to crystallize. She was on a bed in the Hellsing mansion' medical ward, with Dr. Trawelian and Walter standing by her.

"I remember... I passed out. What happened after?"

"You were brought here, Sir Integral."

"By Sergeant Seras? "

"No, by Alucard. Actually, he brought you both, but carried Sergeant Seras away later."

"Carried?"

"Yes, she looked not too good either... But Alucard rejected any medical assistance for her, claiming the girl to be dead already..."

Integra's face froze. A second later a powerful shout pierced the lower layers of atmosphere, stirring the hearts of rookie witnesses and informing the more experienced Hellsing-Hall inhabitants that the routine had more or less returned to its tracks:

"Alucarrrrd!!!"

"Sir Integral, you shouldn't cry, your lungs are still weak..."

"Here, have some water, Lady Integra..."

Integra disregarded the mother-hen-like behavior of her doctor and butler, clenching the glass of water in her hand. Dead?! Victoria Seras is dead? Oh God... Another life, adding to her growing burden, another name in her grievous list... Where's that grinning scarecrow?! Some master he was to the poor rookie... Hadn't she quite clearly ordered the egotistic bastard to look over the girl?!

"Do you miiiind to draw the bliiinds? The sun is too briiight..." - the voice appeared from nowhere, extending the vowels lazily. The annoyingly relaxed tone was just adding fuel to Integra's wrath.

At last. He didn't seem to hurry... "Draw them!" - the barked order was nothing but a little more clawing pain to her throat, as Walter was by the windows already. The room got sealed with thick blinds and greenish twilight filled it, making it look like a shaded aquarium.

"Good morning. - a smile of a sleepy sphynx emerged out of the wall together with its seven feet long periphery. - Feeling better today, Miss Hellsing?"

The answer was the glass, launched with full strength into Alucard's head as the only available substitute for a nice explosive bullet. Walter and Dr.Trawelian followed it with the spellbound eyes of hunt-trained spaniels, watching a close flight of a duck. The vampire casually got out of the trajectory of his master's greeting, as his brow ironically arched.

"Whoa! My lady, it's hardly civilized..."

Snarling Master of monster started to rise from the bed, being carefully but firmly stopped by her bedside guardian angels. The doctor scowled and muttered something about the blood pressure, but Hellsing leader had other worries on the current agenda.

"Shut the hell up, bloodsucker! Where's Victoria Seras?!"

"Perfect logic... First you tell me to shut up and then ask a question. Should I scribble the answer on a cardboard and hold it up? And what a language...Tsk, tsk. - The nocturnal creature moved further into the room, shrugging his shoulders. - She was in her coffin the last time I checked. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask?! What's her state after this night?"

The sphynx smile somehow turned into the sated grin of B.B. Wolf with R.R. Hood and her aged relative in his stomach. Before the lynch mob's... err... hunters' arrival, of course.

"Exhausted, I assume. Sleeping already."

"Dr. Trawelian says you brought her body a few hours ago and told him she was dead. - Integra's glare acquired the nailing force of a catapulted icicle. - Explanations?"

She could easily say that something was wrong here. Either by a suddenly sheepish expression of the doctor, or by...

"Mwahaha!!!"

Shucks. Yes, she had made a mistake, judging by rising spirits of the hell-designed nuisance in front of her. The vampire, still laughing, quickly crossed the room and leaned forward, placing his hands at the both sides of the bed. Alucard's sunglasses-covered red eyes studied the face of the young woman for a few seconds, his features were full of irony.

"Integra... My Master. For England, Her Majesty and St. George... Or, at least, for Hellsing and your old servants - remember the basics of your profession. How a human becomes a vampire, huh? The policewoman is dead since that night in Cheders. When she sleeps at day, for example, there's no breathing, or heartbeat, or... whatever. Any coroner would safely consider her dead. The forces, which keep us moving, have nothing to do with human medical knowledge and human medics' services."

"I.. I'm fully aware of that! But why did the girl feel so bad, then? You had to carry her!"

Alucard's irritating smirk faded, as he stood up straight and glanced at the butler.

"It was an unfortunate misunderstanding. Walter hasn't briefed you about the events of the past night yet, I assume. All right, I'll do this chore... "

* * *

The wrinkled surface of the unlidded coffin bed moved and wavered like the fake sea in 'The Tempest' staging, as a muffled sneeze emerged from its depth. An incomprehensible murmuring brilliantly reached its evolution peak - the last few words "...omebody talking 'bout me? Jeez..." were practically understandable - and pitifully degraded to another sneeze, followed by angry grumbling. The round bulge under the sheet fidgeted and the silky fabric slipped down to demonstrate the awed world a mess of strawberry blond locks, a fragment of a forehead and a closed eye. The eye slowly opened and after a short hesitation got shaded with long lashes again.

Victoria Seras half drifted out of her sleep, but it didn't mean she would leave the warm and temptingly cozy nest she had made among the satin bed sheets. No way! She sleepily grunted and swirled under the coverlet, turning on the other side and curling into her favorite pose of Morpheus worshipping. Still, the interrupted hibernation didn't resume, as if something was distracting the firm intention of Victoria's senses to log out. She curled tighter and rubbed her cheek against the coffin cushion. That's it. A faint scent, bitter-spicy, so familiar... The scent of her Master. Now she recollected... The crimson eyes opened widely at the vivid memories of what'd happened a few hours ago. Unbelievable... But still real. With a soft chuckle the girl touched her lips with the same gesture her Master had made then... the one which had seemed to set off something like a thermonuclear reaction - one movement causing and dragging along another, increasing acceleration and heat. The kiss had been slow. Ridding each other of clothes had been slightly faster. The bodies, meeting in the entwining circle of hands, as if being attracted to each other with irresistible gravitation - that had been fast. Stumbling to the bed without breaking another kiss had been really an instant... After that point time had just lost its meaning. Centuries could have passed in the outer world, unnoticed.

Uh-oh! She hadn't expected that long, long night to be so eventful... And to have such a grand finale. Seras blushed a bit, as mere memories of it sent waves of lust coursing through her flesh. The kiss marks on her body seemed to glow in the dark through the layer of the coverlet... Every touch, every movement, every moan or whisper flashbacked in her mind. The girl rolled onto her stomach and stretched her naked body on the place the long and lean figure had rested, propping his head with one hand and idly drawing ornaments of caress on her skin with the other, after they had unlocked their embrace at last. "Alucard, my Master... Not human, I said then... - Victoria inhaled his scent, still present around her, and lingered in it. The girl closed her eyes, a smile wandering on her lips absentmindedly. - A creature from Hell... Well, that's the man I chose, that's my territory." She suddenly smiled wider, thinking of the childish beliefs about the forementioned creatures she had harbored long ago. "At least, you don't smell of sulfur."

Victoria lay there in the soft warmth of her bed and relaxed afterglow, curled into a ball in a cave with satin roofing. Alucard had left while she had been deep in her slumber, being apparently summoned by his never ending duties in Hellsing. He would probably return soon... As for now, she had the rare luxury of lighthearted feeling-happy-doing-nothing. She was gradually slipping into a nap again. Of course, it would be so much better if she had somebody to share this peaceful feeling - to cuddle into his arms, to just feel his reassuring presence... But the only one she longed for was unavailable at the moment. Wishes are whimsical in their determination to become reality... Ouch!!!

The peaceful doze was shattered by something really heavy, landing on Victoria's body. In such cases a drowsy brain usually grasps the idea of something truly terrible going on, following the instinctive axiom that to overestimate a threat is by all means safer than to underestimate it. The same happened this time - the ex-policeman's mind hastily rummaged through the menu of innerving theories like the end of the world; earthquake; thieves and murderers; the Thames, founding its way into the dungeons; aliens' attack; Jan Valentine resurrected and being hyper about it... All this and a whole lot more flicked through Victoria's head; and her resulting opinion was expressed in the no less conservative instincts-based method. Determining, at all events, to sell her afterlife (which had just started to gain... er... attractive details) dearly, she made a frantic struggle for it, hitting her hands and legs in all directions and yelling like a baby-banshee, dragged to a dentist. At last something gave way and the girl's head came wriggling out of the bed sheets' cocoon. Upon seeing what was lying in her lap Victoria gasped and pulled a bit shaky hands from under the fabric to her mouth. Her eyes darted to the door, where the solid bolt sat in the same place she had slid it to a few hours ago. How?!

* * *

Alucard heard the familiar pattern of footsteps and somersaulted in the air, throwing his body out of the corridor's ceiling and landing in front of the walking butler, managing not to spill any precious liquid from the unpacked medical blood sack in his hand.

"So? How has it been?"

Walter slightly rolled his eyes, losing the stiff mien he was wearing.

"And how do you expect it to be? She's definitely not happy."

Alucard chuckled. His keen senses allowed him to hear all the words, the angry feminine voice was incanting in Integra's study. The stubborn girl had insisted on returning to work immediately and the doctor grudgingly allowed it at last... But the next topic in question left him standing his ground firmly - his strict recommendation would be no smoking for at least three days. That was a hard blow.

Integra sat at the desk, helplessly looking at the empty ash tray and cursing. She hadn't realized before how strong this habit become. If not to smoke, she needed a cigar to hold in her fingers, to feel its dry smell... The box of Cubans from her table had miraculously disappeared, as well as from the other places she had used to keep them. She had just checked and couldn't help but to vent her frustration aloud. That were not plain obscenities commonplace humans usually pepper around in such situations. No, Sir Integral Wingates Hellsing's powerful intellect was coming forth with long, carefully thought out, comprehensive curses, embracing the past and going away into the distant future, laced with colorful, juicy, substantial epithets and similes. At last she trailed off, sulkily puffed away a blonde lock from her cheek and picked up the first envelope from the stack of the new mail, being brought by Walter.

The man and the vampire in the corridor looked at each other.

"The storm is over?"

"Guess so. But still, I'll keep an eye. By the way, Alucard, when you volunteered to fetch her lollipops as an adequate replacement of cigars... Wasn't the result of such a kind suggestion a bit obvious?"

"Hah. I was just trying to be helpful."

The butler only sighed and shook his head, starting to walk towards the staircase again. Alucard overtook him and walked by his side in the same stride.

"Walter, I want you to look for some information. - the vampire's voice sounded grave now. - It's about that Maxwell's call... I feel something wrong here. Have I told you that he never asked to call Integra to the phone? He called to her own office and in her usual working hours... But still didn't bother to ask whether he could talk to her directly, just proceeded the conversation with me - and he can't stand that, you know, he hates my kind to the guts, that racist."

Walter stopped in his tracks and sharply turned to the vampire.

"What are you hinting at?"

"I'm not hinting. I strongly suspect that Maxwell tried to pull the old trick of picking the chestnuts from fire with other person's hands. Their intelligence works perfectly, we have to admit that - Holy Inquisition left well-trained followers. Elisabeth lived on the Continent before coming here. I guess, Iscariots found out about her arrival and true intentions quite a time ago and decided not to interfere for a while, staying in London and watching the situation closely. Their logic is pretty clear. If Elisabeth had managed to behead Hellsing in a one blow - fine for them, England would have fallen into their influence field. On the other hand, if she had failed, they'd have pretended to make a nice gesture towards us - giving us a warning and sending Anderson rampaging on English territory with the lame excuse of aid... Enrico might think he would gain from this situation in any case."

"Your reasoning is a wee bit paranoid... - Walter set his lips firm and tilted his head, looking intently at his old friend. - But this conspiracy theory makes sense. I'll do what I can... And as fast as possible."

"One thing more. Integra shouldn't know about this investigation... So far, at least."

"That goes without saying. Lady Integra is troubled enough already."

"Exactly... - Alucard's eyes narrowed and he suddenly smiled. - Oh. She's fully awake now. I have to go."

"My, what a sudden commotion! - Walter's mouth curled in an exceptionally irritable smirk, as the retired Angel of Death stood akimbo and eyed the vampire. - Anxious to bring Miss Victoria her breakfast to bed, huh? Never mind me, I fully understand... How do you, vampiric folk, call this time? "Honeysun"?"

"We don't tend to give silly names to things, as you, humans, do... Besides, I go there to train her on new tricks, she really needs it at the current moment, so drop these insinuations."

"New tricks? Training? Oh yes, I got an eyeful of one training session of yours last night...Curious euphemism."

Alucard just snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Spare me of this envious old geezer's attitude, Walter."

"I'd rather appreciate to not hear such words from a being whose own lifespan fits the mammoth's crap age category, Lord Alucard."

"I'm not that old!!!"

"Whatever you say... Just go. One shouldn't make a lady wait, should he?"

"Bah! Save your etiquette lectures for someone else, would you?!"

Watching the vexed nosferatu disappearing in a puddle of supreme blackness, Walter couldn't help but to congratulate himself. He had managed to score a decent one... Rare fun. Heh-heh. Now back to the business... The day promised to be active.

* * *

Integra walked along the corridor of the basement in a wide pace. She wanted to talk to Alucard about his actions during her unexpected La-La Land tour, provided by that vampiric bitch; maybe.. maybe even thank him... Somehow, mere "thank you" was like a lump in her throat - unable to swallow, but too hard to spit it out too... looking into the ancient red eyes, always gleaming with sarcasm. Sometimes she had almost expected to see the reflection of a little girl in a white blouse and blue skirt in these slit pupils... It was too annoying to admit. Sighing about that, she slowed down and stopped by the corridor's turn, leaning against the wall. A few yards away from this turn was the place, favored by Alucard at most after his coffin and - alas! - her study's ceiling. He would sit there in his big chair, alone, deceptively relaxed, reminding of a predator in a cage. She would walk up and stand in front of him, doing her best to look cool, stern and unperturbed... He would raise his eyes at her, grinning, and say...

"Spread your knees, it's uncomfortable."

These words were pronounced by Alucard, there could be no mistake, and they had the effect of a bucket of icy cold water to snap Integra out of her brooding. Another voice, a high-pitched one, readily answered: "Yes, Master!" and something soft rustled. Lady Hellsing froze. What the hell were that vampires doing there?! No, it couldn't be... And in the middle of the corridor of all places...

"That's better. A nice pussy you've got. So soft and really smooth. Here, let me... It feels great, eh?"

"Ohhh, Master! Yes!"

"You are pretty good for a beginner, Victoria" - Alucard's voice sounded pleased. Integra felt a burning wave of heat, flooding her pale cheeks and moving rapidly onto her ears and neck. God almighty, what should she do? Stomp in, turning her eyes aside carefully, and give that wretched couple of bloodsuckers a piece of her mind about such a total lack of shame? Tiptoe away? Make some noise to let them know somebody's around? She felt like boiling inside. Oh yes, now she completely understood the reasoning of the people, who castrated their pets... The ultimate truth was that some bloody pets were just begging for this procedure.

"By the way, Miss Hellsing, what are you doing there for five minutes already? Lacing your shoes?" - Alucard's voice made Integra startle, pushing her body around the corner, as a bunjee-jumper pushes himself into a suicidal-friendly jump. Her look darted around in an awkward manner and finally met surprised eyes of one vampire and amused - of the other. The undeads sat in front of each other in big chairs and Seras had a huge black cat in her lap. The cat lazily opened its eyes - one blazing red pair first and then the other three sets on its forehead - and looked at the stunned Protestant Knight with a mix of pity and superiority, as only cats and lawyers can do.

"Look, lady Integra, here's my familiar! I was able to summon it last night! - chirped the ex-policewoman, beaming. Despite the long canines her smile was still a bit childish. - You can stroke it, it's very calm! Aren't you, Pussycat?"

"Ah... Hm... Lovely kitty. - stuttered Integra, not quite enthusiastic to touch the animal, which had just yawned, casually demonstrating an impressive assortment of teeth and fangs. - Good for you, Sergeant Seras."

"How do you feel, Lady Integra? Here, please take my seat."

"Indeed, Miss Hellsing, your face has an unusual color... Not a fever, I hope?"

Despite the polite neutrality of Alucard's tone, his Master's trained ear caught the notes, acknowledging her suspicions. Oh, joy... The disreputable mirth was sparkling in the No Life King's eyes. He apparently guessed about the scandalous thoughts she had harbored during her unintentional eavesdropping. Integra decisively ruddered the conversation to another topic.

"The progress is undeniable, of course... But isn't it a little too early for Miss Seras to develop such skills, Alucard? She's quite a fledgling as a vampire... No offence, Sergeant."

"Normally it would really be too early, but Victoria had an accidental breakthrough last night. Caused by stress, I believe. The present state of affairs is still far from the conscious usage of these tricks... She was able to summon this animal but can't control it now. See?"

Victoria was kneeling beside the cat, urging it to go get acquainted with Lady Integra. The supernatural feline kept ignoring the variety of girl's commands and pleads, absentmindedly washing its face. Only being pushed directly to Hellsing leader's feet, Pussy grimly sniffed her shoes and brushed its fuzzy tail against Integra's leg with a reluctant little movement. Obviously considering the ritual finished, it lurched on its side and started to lick its belly. Victoria cast an apologetic look at her commander, but Integra just chuckled.

"Another stubborn addition to our growing pandemonium. I see... Well, I'll order Walter to provide the beast with food daily. I doubt it'd consume usual cat food or something like that though... As you can't control it so far, it's going to live here for a while, correct?"

The cat suddenly raised its head and affirmatively mrowled.

* * *

Author's note: Well, here's another chapter at last. And another original character. Sort of... By the exception of the eyes' color and their quantity, Pussy is a portrait of my cat Cleopeter, whose name was Cleopatra at first. Yes, I'm SO observant sometimes, that I noticed certain details of Cleo's anatomy only when he was about 6 months old and totally got used to his name. The only excuse I have is that he's pitch-black and very fuzzy.

Anyway, I hope this chapter hasn't bored you away. Your opinions are welcomed, as they urge me to go on with this story, proving that someone's still reading it...


	12. Chapter 12

The vampire on Her Majesty's Secret Service fidgeted and tried to pull her short skirt down. One shouldn't have to be a genius in Geometry and Optical Physics to say that the imaginary line between the scope of that extensively arrogant new mercenary, Pip Bernadotte, and the shadow under the lower part of her uniform was quite straight. Their group had been in an ambush for almost an hour already, but there were no signs of FREAKs, reported in this gloomy slum of Brixton. Victoria, as a more experienced and less vulnerable soldier in Hellsing business, had been picked by Fergusson to be in the first row of the perimeter, along with a few veterans, lucky survivors of all the recent bloodsheds. Pip and his fellows were a few yards aback, behind a sophisticated cover of overflowing trash cans. _Serves him right.__ Pip... Hah! Peep would be more correct, dammit!!!_ Victoria wondered how her garments hadn't started to sizzle yet.

The girl glanced back to cringe at the incurably obnoxious smile, plastered on Bernadotte's face in the same manner as the constant band-aid on his nose. The dude was absentmindedly chewing a strand from the end of his long braid - Hellsing organization had gained another chain smoker in his face and cigarettes were naturally banned during missions - and peeping through the scope. Victoria snorted in disgust. Pip was one of the new batch of problems, bugging her lately. With a sigh, she gave a good look to the deserted street and returned to her brooding.

...The first problem was Pussy. The name seemed to stick to it, especially favored by Alucard, who had developed a peculiar habit to call it only by name in Lady Integra's presence. Hm. The animal was quite adorable, of course... But its main ambition seemed to be squirming in anywhere, where or when it was especially unwanted, and making people and undeads perfectly mad at it. Having accomplished something notably nasty, it would sit on its tail and listen to the steady queue of victim's curses in his address with an air of a musical critic listening to a new staging of his favorite opera. Pussy's conceit became especially unbearable after the latest scandal in the barracks, when one of the recently arrived mercenaries had been awoken in the middle of the night by a nature's call. He drowsily staggered to the bathroom to 'drain his lizard' ... When the half-dressed co-workers' mob with a step-ladder managed to lure the man from clutching all his limbs to a water pipe under the ceiling, he stirred an awful row. The ungrateful one was blaming his rescuers on having sneaked spot remover or some peculiar seasoning of the kind into his evening drink. According to him, the hallucinations had been helluva dreadful... As for Victoria, the girl honestly considered that statement to be a wicked exaggeration. So what, a cat's head had popped through the wall above the toilet, scanned the exposed for drainage length with its keen eight eyes, uttered a derisive "Maw!" and returned into the wall. Hmph, big deal! Some people just tend to make quite a fuss out of trifle household incidents, giving an absolutely wrong in pedagogical sense idea to the animal. Victoria carefully avoided the memories of her first encounter with the cat, when its vague presence in the corridor had spooked her enough to grab the Harconnen as humble means of self protection.

Occasions of this sort happened pretty often, but without the forementioned devastating overreactions. Even Lady Integra didn't blame the cat at all, contenting herself with pitching random cheap or unbreakable objects at it, as when the feline had tried to improve a detailed map of London, spread on her desk. Fresh steaming dumps had really made it 3D... To Integra's disgust and Victoria's embarrassment. Walter had just shaken his head, fetching a clean non-improved replacement and glaring at laughing Alucard, who kept observing the commotion from the ceiling.

Hellsing leader said once that the problem of having a pet from Hell was achingly familiar to her indeed. "That's their nature, Sergeant Seras... And even years of patient effort hardly bring any positive reformation to it." As for Alucard, Pussy's antisocial stunts often made him disreputably amused, somehow proving both Integra's remark and the wide-known fact of commonplace mutual sympathy between creatures of the same behavior pattern and without clashing interests.

Victoria bit her lip, casting another look back. Gee. The second problem. The new captain was still studying her hips through the scope's lenses with the meticulous approach of a military topologist. _What, gonna draw a map for the further invasion? Dream on, pal._

Despite the fact that Pip had called her a freak of nature in sheer light-heartedness of hurt masculine vanity during their first meeting... He didn't seem to feel anything wrong about manifesting keen interest concerning the female vampire later. _Like now, for example.__ Duh._ _Some guys have a way too broadband connection between their brains and their gonads for their own good..._ But, well, it was a somewhat nice change... At least, better than to feel wary or spooked looks as it had often happened before. Besides, he wasn't half that bad and overall annoying as Captain Stetra had been. That little incident, when Lady Integra had ordered to show Victoria what she'd got as a vampire to a disbelieving gang of mercenaries... The huffed girl had sent Bernadotte cart wheeling across the room by a mere push of her index finger. Not that she would admit that it had been fun...But, hah, at least, it had been useful by bringing a bit more belief into the further anti-undead instructions. God knows, these arrogant hot-shots honestly needed it, because the third thing which had started to trouble Victoria lately was a sudden outburst of FREAKs' activity in London and its surroundings. There wasn't a night without a mission now and sometimes there were several of them, like this time for example. Master was suddenly dispatched elsewhere, leaving Fergusson and Co sitting and smelling ripe odors from Pip's literally trash cover and waiting for anything to happen. The information they had got about vampires there lacked any clarity. _Man, what a lousy place for an ambush... _Victoria quickly shook off the thoughts and gripped the gun with both hands as a car pulled up to the entrance of one of the buildings under Hellsing surveillance.

Two men and a young girl got out of a vehicle, laughing and talking. Victoria frowned at the strange sense she had developed lately. Somehow she had learned to feel a distinction between humans and undeads. At the first glance, at any distance... she unmistakably knew. It was like an elusive smell... No, not smell. None of the five senses had anything to do with this feeling, it was another sprout of her developing new nature. Coping with it was still somewhat hard for her, so the girl strained her vision, looking at the newcomers' faces, as they started to unload the car of luggage and carry it inside. Hmm, the trio looked like innocent visitors. Wait! Oh yeah... Yellow cat-like eyes were not typical for humans and... Positive, vampires. Fanged smiles were a total giveaway. Seras whispered the discovery into a headset microphone, silently praying for the coming mission to be easy and clean. Still, a vast list of Murphy laws for military operations, which a SAS drill sergeant had recited to rookies so often, scrolled down in her mind in all its sickening truth.

* * *

Bullets were like fierce wasps, flying from the fifth floor landing and biting Victoria's body with quick hot splashes of pain. She could feel her torn flesh tingle and twitch underneath the clothes, pushing the slugs out and closing the wounds. Not silver, thanks God. But still... Not a feeling to enjoy either.

A burst of gunfire thundered from above and the girl gritted her teeth, swaying off-balance under its sudden impact. Oh, hell... Almost every turn in this building meant nasty surprises. She quickly retreated behind a corner, where movement and angry mutter stated someone's presence. She didn't know who exactly were there, but they were her human brothers in arms for sure. Probably preparing to storm the threat upstairs despite the danger.

Seras would have preferred to torch the FREAK-verminated house as a Guy Fox' straw dummy right after the realization that it had been packed by a bunch of bloodsucking homies of the trio from the car. Fergusson had forbidden that. "We aren't sure if there are only vampires inside, Victoria. Besides, Investigations Department might find some useful information there. We know close to nothing about FREAKs' origin and intentions, and this knowledge is too important." Yes, he had got a point... Even though they hadn't met a single human being in this bloody nest yet. So, they didn't have any choice but to clean the entire vampiric condominium floor by floor. One more hostile floor left...

"Stay back!" - yelled Victoria to the troopers around the corner and tried to figure how to eliminate the gunman upstairs. Damn. The shooting angle was still too uncomfortable. Should move closer to the target. She glanced aside to see Pip with his long braid wrapped around his neck as a scarf. He looked up, obviously measuring the odds of a successful shot too. Too bad they couldn't use grenades without a fear of the whole rundown staircase collapsing on their heads.

"Cease the fire. I'm going up." - Victoria's command was hardly heard through the deafening noise of gunfire and screams in the building, but she got an affirmative nod. A second later the young vampire rushed up the stairs without a worry to put her back under friendly fire of deadly silver.

She spotted a vague form of their enemy above, hardly visible in the dark, gun smoke and dust, and pulled the trigger. The body didn't settle yet in a puff of grey ash as Seras was on the landing already, scoring a direct hit into another undead, too busy struggling with a jammed ammo clip in his rifle. A moment of silence, only hasty footfalls of Hellsing soldiers on the stairs and distant screams of scared humans, who were unlucky enough to live next door to the showdown spot. Artful half-voice obscenities appeared behind her shoulder and the girl turned, meeting nose to nose with Pip again. Without a word he gave her thumbs-up and turned to his subordinates, infiltering the fifth floor hallway. The final stage of this messy operation was about to begin. Fergusson's group had destroyed several dozens of undeads already; mostly FREAKs and only a few ghouls. The vampires they were fighting this time were alarmingly experienced with weapons. Seras didn't want to think what it could possibly cost to Hellsing; she had caught a glimpse of at least three uniform-clad falling bodies during the massacre in the lobby... And there were many encounters later and higher in the building too. All she could hope for was that the men were just injured. Reloading her gun, Victoria joined the other members of their team, checking the last floor for any undead inhabitants. Suddenly she felt that something was wrong. So wrong, that she couldn't fight the urge to walk back into the hallway and head to the end of it. She hesitantly stopped, looking around then up. Ah. The hideous feeling increased as she spotted a trap door on the ceiling. The girl quickly reported her discovery into her microphone and climbed up towards the source of her uneasiness.

Seras landed a vampire with an automatic gun, managing to send an explosive round right through the black spot of a screaming mouth on the white vampire's face.The result was a nauseating sound like a pumpkin hitting stone, dry rustle, silence. Victoria winced at the slowly fading pain in her freshly perforated shoulder and hand and wished she'd dodged bullets faster. Carefully glancing around, the trash-cleaner stepped into an enormous windowless attic. The place was a chaotic maze of old furniture and new boxes of various size, rising in piles to the low flat ceiling. There were a few low-watt lighting facilities on it and they provided more confusing shadows than helpful light. The stuffy air was full of gunpowder stench and dust. The room seemed empty and totally lifeless, but... well tuned shit-detectors in Victoria's intuition department kept blinking red, pushing her forward. The girl smoothly moved along the single twisting aisle between piles of cardboard boxes with "Made in Hong Kong" on them, trying to suppress a sudden chill running down her spine. An obscure form briskly moved in a dark cavern to the left, making Victoria instantly level her gun at it. Oh, just a dusted mirror and her crouching self in it... The girl exhaled and lowered her weapon only to be knocked down on the floor by a figure, having soundlessly darted across the aisle behind her back. They rolled on the floor in a ferocious flurry of exchanged punches and kicks. Despite all the struggle Victoria came up with, her chances were dropping low, as she became pinned to the floor with the heavy body of the male vampire. His palms locked on the girl's neck, strangling her while battering her head against the wooden floor. Victoria gathered all her remaining power in a desperate attempt to free herself but the FREAK only chuckled.

"That's right, I love it when chicks ain't lying like logs... - his fingers tightened in a crashing grip and Victoria clearly heard the dry snapping of her breaking neck. - Now yer time to come, you meddling bitch!"

Victoria's body became limp, as the world switched off.

* * *

The gunshots still rang in her ears, as Victoria opened her eyes and blinked.

"Yes, ma'am? May I help you?" - She mumbled, staring up at two blurry faces in front of her. - Oh, this must be your son, you two look so alike..."

"Dammit, wake up!"

She blinked again and the faces juxtaposed into a single one of huffed Pip.

"Ew, I've had double vision..."

"Oh, really? Now, get up. Can you?"

A lead weight of something sprawled on her body made Victoria get the grip of reality and jump up, throwing aside the twitching FREAK with still smoking wounds in his side. Judging by that, she was unconscious for less than a minute. The first thing she did was grabbing her gun from the floor and planting bullets into the vampire's head and heart, completing his drop dead collection of silver.

"Don't forget your instructions, would you? Only here, if you want them really dead."

"You two were too busy hugging to hit him there without pulling the bastard aside with a crowbar... or turning your body into... hm... sublimated form together with him, Seras. And that would be a crying shame. - Pip favored the girl with a crooked smile and quickly became serious again. - Besides, that were you who forgot the basic instructions in the first place. Why did you go here alone without anybody covering your back? You claim to be trained by pros in SAS before Hellsing and here you go acting like a dumbass cannon fodder! Shit, we were almost late!"

Victoria frowned and absent-mindedly rubbed her blood-covered temple, as if trying to summon Fergusson's voice in her communication device, ordering the troops to withdraw. The mission seemed to be really finished, as no gunfire was heard.

"Have you checked the rest of the place?" - Ex-policewoman's stare swept the surroundings. A second later a shocked exclamation came from the end of the room, proving that someone else was present there. Both Hellsing operatives reached the end of the room-piercing path in an instant, holding their weapons ready for any unpleasant surprise. They halted on the edge of a dead end by the far wall, where a trooper in Hellsing uniform stood, looking at the floor or, more correctly, at a variety of objects, scattered on it in disorder. Extremely unnerving variety for anyone who knew the purpose of yellowish-grey lumps of clayish substance, wrapped in plastic.

"C4... - exhaled Pip. - Sonuvabitch..."

He quickly kneeled by the explosives, trying to examine them from all sides without touching. At last he got up, shaking dust off his palms.

"No detonators. We're lucky like hell. This quantity would be enough to mash everything 50 yards around..."

"Or more... - muttered the soldier beside him, counting the packs of condensed death with his eyes. - About ten pounds, my God..."

Victoria looked at the mess around, with boxes opened and wires, tools and random trifles being thrown out of them in obvious haste and met Pip's stare.

"He was looking for something to detonate it... And bang our asses goodbye. - The mercenary looked down and lightly kicked a broken electric bulb. - Did you know? To hurry here the way you did?"

"How? It's just... Guess I just felt growing menace from here."

"Felt?"

Seras dismissively shrugged, not wishing to explain the strange things descending (or ascending?) on her as a true vampire: "Master says one should always trust intuition."

"Master, huh? Hasn't your fanged Yoda said anything about, say, calling for enforcement, if you trust your intuition that much?"

"Never. He prefers to work alone... - a faint smile touched the young vampire's lips. - Looks like it's slightly contagious. Me bad."

Pip opened his mouth to answer, but Fergusson's voice on the radio interrupted him, finally stating the end of the operation - a helicopter pilot confirmed the roof to be clean. Trash-cleaning Department had to withdraw to free the neutralized place for arriving investigators. Rustles and occasional talk in different parts of the attic marked intricate trajectories of Hellsing soldiers to the exit. Victoria stepped aside to let the third operative pass and turned to the still annoyed captain:

" Anyway, thank you for giving me a hand here, Captain Bernadotte..."

"Pip for ya. - the man shrugged and turned to the door. - Let's go."

Heading down to the street, the two kept silence, lingering in their own thoughts. At last Pip glanced at his gloomy co-worker and cleared his throat.

"Wait."

Victoria stopped and looked at Captain's face, waiting for the continuation. She didn't feel like talking at the current moment, tired and hungry. Besides, she felt cold. Blood loss? Probably. Pip had an odd expression on his face, as he looked at the girl from head to toes.

"I have two questions to ask before we join the others."

"Yes?"

"The first question. Did you feel pain when you were shot? Back then... on the stairs?"

Seras slowly exhaled, trying to vent a sudden wave of irritation. What kind of silly question was that...

"Yes, I did."

"Uh-huh, figured so... But wasn't quite sure."

A tense pause fell, making Victoria snap at last.

"All right, what's the other question? We don't have the whole night to stand here and discuss stup... subtle matters, you know. Time to go home."

"Ah, that's exactly what the second question is about. - a dubious glint appeared in mercenary's eyes, albeit his face was carefully bland. - Are you going back looking like this?"

"And what's wrong about tha... - the girl automatically combed her hair with a hand, looked down at herself and finally found a solid reason for feeling cold. - Argh!"

She quickly crossed her hands on her chest, strategically covering the results of the fact that her clothes had not regenerated along with her body. All the bullets she had caught during the mission successfully turned her uniform into a messy set of holes with a feeble framing of blood-soaked fabric. Rolling on the floor fighting widened them to boot.

"Reality bites, huh? - Pip had the cheek to wink. - It has bitten off enough for quite a show. I know that milk does a body good... But damn, looks like drinking blood works even better."

* * *

"Don't bother yourself! - stone walls of the corridor leading to the underground lair of Hellsing vampires reflected Victoria's voice with eerie echo. Unfortunately, not eerie enough to shoo away her company. Of course, she was thankful to Pip for lending her the upper piece of his uniform... But all the bonus points were soon annihilated by his clear intention to tag along all the way to her room, providing her with questions and comments of a goggling tourist. Gee, what a nuisance... - I'll return your jacket as soon as possible, if you worry about that."

"Hah, I don't. It's definitely not your size... But on the other hand... - Bernadotte made a stiff mien of a TV preacher and concluded: - Too many people these days consider fetishism a fascinating hobby... Surely, the last days of this world are coming!"

Victoria gritted her teeth and sharply turned to Pip, being fed by his teasing to the limit. However, before she was able to give the braided cuckoo a piece of her mind, a deep voice purred out of thin air:

"Fetishism? Yeah, quite a popular trend. But you forget one thing... - unmistakable mocking tones condensed along with the body of the notorious Hellsing nosferatu. He towered above the two, presenting the mercenary with a nasty fanged smirk. - She's a vampire. And vampires should have more stylish collections than ridiculous heaps of used clothing... Scalps are OK, for example." A lazy red-eyed stare stopped on Bernadotte's hair and a gloved hand made a snake-like upwards movement. Pip rapidly recoiled, uttering a curious crossover between "Eeek!" and "Fuck!" and grabbing his braid with both hands in reflexive protection. Alucard chuckled, demonstratively slowing his rising hand and taking the shades off the bridge of his nose to look the captain in the eye in his most vicious fashion.

Tiny beads of sweat appeared on the new captain's forehead, as Victoria tried her best to be above the glee of having a little revenge. She hardly refrained from doing anything so obvious as, say, cackling.

"Where have you been tonight, Master? - she asked, making Alucard disengage his scornful stare from the increasingly nervous mercenary. - Was it tough? That operation in Brixton... It turned out kinda... messy."

"Well, I had quite a city tour this night... Hah! By the way, I've been to Hyde Park..."

"To rehearse a speech for your Nobel Peace Prize from a soapbox, no doubt..." - remarked Pip in a sour half-voice, quickly recovering his usual arrogance. Alucard barked a short laughter.

"No need to - I'm good at improvisations. But back to the topic. I've seen fresh traces of Anderson's handiwork there. "

"The priest is back?! - Seras grimaced, suppressing a strong desire to emit a frustrated yowl. Not too successfully. - Aw, crap!!! What should we do to get rid of that blithering twit for good? Nuke him?!"

"Whoa, creative idea! But I doubt that Integra would consider it thrilling, heh-heh... We'll find less spectacular... but I swear, more entertaining measures to make the Judas priest leave this country. Making him leave this world would be a better option, though."

"Whom are you talking about? - Bernadotte looked puzzled by the cordial reaction of the undeads. - I thought you Hellsing vamps aren't that antagonistic with church... And don't kill humans."

"Just wait till you have your own experience with that bozo... - hissed the girl, - to call him a raving maniac is a sweet compliment!"

"Not only him. - Alucard crooked his lips as if feeling a nasty taste in his mouth all of a sudden. - The percentage of MDs in Iscariots organization is amazingly close to 100."

Two pairs of surprised eyes stared at him: "You... You mean all of them are doctors?"

"No. I mean all of them are mentally defective." - snapped the nosferatu and leaned to the wall, crosshanded. His inquisitive gaze lingered on his apprentice.

"Bad luck tonight, huh? You look even more battered than after our visit to the Countess."

Seras painfully winced and tried to flake dry blood off the side of her forehead.

"Could be better, for sure."

"The mission was successful. We just got more friggin' bloodsuckers than we'd expected. - suddenly fitted a remark Pip, making Alucard quirk a brow at a tricky term. – I've never thought there would be so many of them in the city."

"Hmm. Dispatching me to the latest location tonight, our fair Lady Integra murmured something about shit hitting a fan. But again, I'm not sure if she mentioned FREAK's activity in London or your familiar's activity in her office, cop." - grinned Alucard, who seemed to return to his alarmingly good mood.

"What, again?! - groaned poor Victoria as the London city map accident readily popped up in her mind. - Oh, noooo..."

"Mwahaha!!! Just kidding. Your cat-astrophe of a pet is strangely quiet lately. Perhaps, too busy planning something grand."

Victoria breathed relief, albeit slightly tainted by Master's ominous prediction. Captain Bernadotte rolled his eyes, grunted "Seeya" and headed to the stairs from the dungeon, mumbling something about nuts. Judging by his last glance at the undeads, the topic of Pip's incomprehensible speech hardly had any connection to food.

* * *

As soon as the last sounds of human's footsteps died away, the No Life King looked down at his fledgling with a smile, still hiding in the corners of his lips.

"Tired, huh?"

Instead of an answer Victoria's forehead was pressed to his shirtfront. She hid her face on her Master's chest with a sigh, as if wordlessly asking for reassurance. It was granted, as Alucard's hands slipped around her shoulders and waist, bringing the girl closer. For a few moments they were silent, as Victoria felt the tense, fear and anger of the long working night finally unclaw her. At last she raised her face and looked up into Alucard's eyes.

"Master, tonight... I..."

"Nearly got into a trouble?"

"Um... Yes. - Seras bit her lip and shuddered. - There was a moment I thought I was a goner..."

Alucard reluctantly nodded, moving his hand up to the girl's neck.

"You are too young for major regeneration yet. - his fingers slowly traced the line of the backbone up to the mass of blonde hair. Smeared with blood, it had dried into odd spikes. - If your neck was not broken but torn... be careful next time, police girl."

"Master, how do you... Ah. - the girl twisted her lips in understanding. -You felt it through the bond."

"Yes... Kind of. - the senior vampire suddenly chuckled, regarding Victoria's face. - I hope you aren't going to start that stale argument about privacy once again."

"Err... No."

"Good girl."

"I've figured it's useless anyway. - a brief smile lit Victoria's face, as her fingers ran up the fabric of the red coat to settle on the wide shoulders. -Whether I argue or not, you still keep doing that. You are addicted to peeping and eavesdropping, Master."

"What a deep analysis. I'm impressed. - the suffering addict grinned, bowed down and planted a kiss on the lips of his wannabe-shrink. At last he made a step back and casually tugged the collar of the borrowed uniform, arching his brow. - So, as a clinical... hm... observer, I wish to see what you are hiding under these ugly greens, cop."

"Much uglier blues..." - The girl sighed and unfastened the jacket to prove her words.

"Mmmm... Right. The only way your clothes could look decent now is in a crumpled heap on the bedroom floor."

"I think I should get several new uniforms, while I'm at it... Like you do with your glasses." - Victoria made a face and sighed again.

"Collateral damage they call it. - the nosferatu shrugged. - All right, now you go and take care of yourself. I'll see you later... After sunrise."

"Are you still busy, Master?"

"Probably."

Alucard stepped into invisibility and watched his apprentice to walk away to her chamber. The traces of bullets on her clothes, the smell of blood mixed with her usual soft scent... her blood... They stirred the same emotions he had harbored about an hour ago and tried to stomp later. They were most illogical... The vampire crossed his hands on his chest, remembering and questioning his own motives.

Pain was a nonissue for him, something a creature of darkness of his age barely notices. However, the pain of his fledgling was something he couldn't ignore. It was so wrong that he had almost decided to block the bond for awhile that night - as an annoying distraction. But somehow he couldn't. He only made it fainter and returned to the exciting discovery he had just made. Judas priest was somewhere nearby, an unexpected present for Hellsing best operative. The vampire felt exactly like a bored hunter feels, finally finding fresh traces of a decent prey after hours of aimless killing time and hares. His teeth bared in a satisfied grin, as Alucard stood over a holy blade, stuck in the middle of killed undead's remains. They were so fresh, that the night breeze hadn't ruined the shape of the body yet, mixing its ash with the light sand of the park alley. The vampire slowly looked around, his sharp senses alert for any clue. Quietness of the night lovingly cradled every sound, letting it cover twice the distance it normally would. Soon the vampire heard heavy footsteps and words of a Latin prayer about two hundred yards from him, moving away. A few moments later Alucard wouldn't have been able to capture these sounds among the gentle whispering of tree leaves. Alucard's cold grin became broader, as he pulled out the Jackal and checked the ammo, preparing for the fight. And then... he twitched.

The corner of his mind he had carefully muffled sent a throb, making the predator disregard his desired hunt. Fear. Anger. Despair. They flowed into him from outside, waking similar emotions of his own and erasing any other goals but to get to the other end of the bond as soon as possible. The tall red-clad figure swiftly melted in the air to step out of shadows in the attic at the other end of the city - just to see silver bullets grinding into the body of a FREAK. Staying invisible for the others, Alucard watched his apprentice's neck changing its angle to natural, fascinated by the deep relief, creeping into his soul. He waited for a minute, while the girl regained consciousness and immediately finished off her assaulter. She was a true fighter, like his Master... And she was safe.

When the vampire returned to the park, his target was lost. Alucard gritted his teeth as he caught the sound of a clapping door and a car going away. Failures always made him mad... Albeit this time the failure was an element of understanding what had happened to him since that simple mission in Cheders. A creature of many centuries behind him, he hadn't felt this way for centuries. He had forgotten the feeling, until now. He shouldn't let himself... Not now. Later, perhaps... Or never. It was all wrong.

"Pussy, you idiot!!! Look, what you have done! Stop that!" - the voice of the subject of Alucard's brooding returned him to the present time. He quickly backed into the wall to watch barefoot Victoria in a pink bathrobe following her familiar, who had an opened bottle of shampoo in its teeth. The two galloped along the corridor and disappeared around the corner, leaving a slimy green trail behind them. Alucard chuckled. Yeah, who could ever imagine spectacular chases like this in the most gloomy dungeon of Hellsing? Abraham von Hellsing would've got fits for sure, old preaching bastard.

Still smirking, Alucard headed for a snack. He planned to be back by the time the things would settle down, to the coffin bed with a sleeping blonde undead curled inside. Yes, she was childish sometimes. Stubborn too. She affected his business like tonight. Had a disastrous fashion sense. Ages younger than him - everything she would want to do, everything she would find new and fascinating, he had already done. Yet... With her beside, the monochrome of his endless existence gained all the colors he thought he had forsaken long ago. So... it wasn't all that wrong. Actually, it wasn't wrong at all.

* * *

Alucard lazily walked along the corridor to Victoria's room, thinking of the sudden decreasing of Hellsing activities these days. Two days had passed since the mass destruction of undeads in Brixton... Maybe that was the reason. The scum kept low profile, too scared by a sudden blow. The vampire was far from the optimistic thought that Hellsing had managed to kill all the FREAKs out there. But anyway, it was rather silent so almost all operatives were off duty, spending their time the way they pleased. Time to discuss the plans for the unexpected break with Seras... He would wait for her return from the shooting ground here. The vampire smiled and opened the door.

"I knew that sooner or later you'll come here. - Hellsing butler, who sat at the table with a thoughtful air, turned his head to the door and nodded. - Sooner, most likely, as Lady Integra doesn't have any work for you so far."

"What are you doing here, Walter?" - Alucard walked in and leaned to a bed lid pole. Walter visited the dungeon daily, but he rarely stayed there for long. Too many duties were waiting for him upstairs.

"Me? - Walter's monocle glistened, as a thin smile appeared on the face of its owner. - Brought yours and Miss Victoria's Happy Meals, of course. And something else...By the way, what are those green spots on the corridor floor, Lord Alucard? My foot slipped on one of them..."

"Ah, that... - Alucard paused, frowning. - The police girl accidentally summoned new hell beasts tonight. Stress, you know... Hasn't anyone seen them yet? They must be crawling somewhere in the mansion."

"Crawling? - a brief flash of worry appeared in butler's eyes. - What exactly are they? How many?"

"Bah, I wish she'd learn to control this ability faster... This time she's got something like monstrous snails."

With an unsavory delight the vampire watched Walter's facial expression. However, in a couple of seconds sheer horror there muted into healthy suspicion, demonstrated by a politely raised brow. Alucard smirked.

"All right, the substance is shampoo. No snails or whatever."

"Nice to hear. But why shampoo if I may ask?"

"The cat misbehaved again. Seras must have missed some spots while cleaning away the aftermath."

"Ah, I see. This lack of control is truly most unfortunate for Miss Victoria. - the butler pursed his lips, apparently recalling the previous deeds of the demonic pet, and finally continued. - All right, it cannot be helped, I believe. Now about the business."

Walter pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his old partner: "I've just got this from the Investigations."

As Alucard's eyes looked through the text, his features became arctic cold. At last he finished reading and clenched the sheet in his fist, locking his gaze with Walter's.

"I was right, after all. He knew."

The ex-Angel of Death grimly nodded.

"What do you intend to do with this information? Let me remind you that by Lady Integra's strict order you can't even touch Enrico Maxwell. Besides, killing him would be... politically unwise."

"I won't... all things considered. But the temptation is great. - Alucard's calm voice was more sinister than any snarling. - Where's my Master now?"

"Holding a meeting with MI 5 leader and a few other Knights. We need more cooperation in the situation with FREAKs."

"Exactly. We'll discuss it with Maxwell tonight. Integra's never banned me from just... - nosferatu's lips drew back in a hideous humorless grin, - ...chatting with him. How beneficial."

"What are you planning, Master? - a sudden confused inquiry came from behind, where Seras stood at the opened door. Judging by her frown, she heard pretty much of the conversation. - What did Maxwell know?"

* * *

Author's note:

Here's another bit of my pretty random writing, guys. Sorry for the pause, the Real Life doesn't leave too much time for any afterlife business. ' BTW, Captain Bernadotte isn't my home-made character. Here's Pip in all his manga glory for ya ( ). Cute, eh?

Now, to the point. About OOCness. Yeah, probably you can blame me for this, especially if you take in consideration only the anime version of Hellsing. Rephrasing old saloon announcements about pianists, my answer would be: "Don't shoot the writer, she writes as she can." '''

About my spelling and grammar mistakes... sighs Grammar is a bitc... hm... I mean, it's a bitter problem, heh-heh. English is a foreign language for me, but I have neither enough time nor (let's be honest!) enough will-power to pick up a text-book or a dictionary and check the stuff I wrote here. Grand disclaimer: the very sight of any English text-book gives me creeps and vivid memories of our English class. This picture ( ) bears a stunning resemblance with a Doomsday of Test in our classroom with the exceptions of the flashy ornament on the background and the fact that our respective teacher (in the center, smiling like an angel) usually preferred to wear skirts instead of pants due to her gender. Anyway, if there are many outrageous mistakes - I'm sorry. If you send me an e-mail about them, I'll be just happy to correct everything (and finally stuff the right way to write into my head, tah-dah!). On this optimistic note let me bow and hide behind a curtain.


	13. Chapter 13

"Master, we've been here for two times already... Speaking of looking suspicious." - Seras stole a glance over her shoulder and bit her lip. The monkey business Hellsing vampires were up to was flawed with complications... And they made her increasingly uneasy. Maxwell's residence for this visit to London was located in a gray stone building at the backgrounds of a massive Catholic cathedral. The guesthouse for high-ranked visitors from Rome and a small park around it were hidden behind an ivy-covered picket fence, which ornamental iron bars couldn't be anything even close to an obstacle for Hellsing vampires. The real problem was the invisible barrier the house was perimetered with. It felt like those spell flimsies Anderson was so eager to toss around and probably was created by something of the kind. The undeads couldn't get in and Alucard wasn't going to give up his intention to talk to Maxwell that easy. So the two were stalking around the block, merry as a funeral bell, while Alucard planned the intrusion and Victoria monitored the surroundings. At last Master stopped and sat on the sidewalk, regarding the main entrance to the residence with grim air. His apprentice stood beside, nervously toying with an elegant chain, a fresh purchase in a nearby store, made in the name of disguise to match Master's heavy iron collar.

"M-master..."- she started, not exactly knowing what to say, but trying to break the tense atmosphere. Alucard seemed to be still irritated with her presence, as he didn't even bother to raise his head to look up at his partner, only a long ear pricked up a little in acknowledgment. The girl sighed. She had had to pass through a tough argument to persuade her senior to take her with him. He had grudgingly agreed at last; but which reason of hers had become the convincing one was still a mystery for the girl.

"Well... Now, cop, you'll have to prove yourself useful here. - the big gray dog got up on its lanky legs and pulled the lead towards the gates. - I need to have closer look at this place. At least five minutes by the gates without disturbance. You talk to the monk at the entrance and don't you dare to ruin our cover."

"Oh...But... - stuttered Victoria, making her senior dart a fierce glare at her. The girl quickly put on a firm face and nodded. - Yes, Master."

Following Alucard in the sluggish barge-like manner of a bored pet owner, giving a routine walk to her dog, she hastily considered the ways to start a safe conversation with a Catholic monk and distract his attention from her curious pet. Twenty feet to the gates... No idea. Fifteen feet... Weather? Nah. Ten feet... Dear God, what should she say?!

Five feet a.k.a. the point of no return.

"Um..."

After such a brilliant introduction Seras hesitated and stopped, presenting the monk with a sheepish look. The dog by her feet turned its muzzle aside, rolled his eyes and uttered a peculiar snorting sound. Still, acting according to his part of the plan, he quietly trudged to the closed gates and stared through them, leaving the problem of communication entirely on his apprentice's shoulders.

"Nice dog you've got, Miss." - Thanks God, the middle-aged man on guard was bored enough to start the talk all by himself! Victoria silently showered the monk with hearty blesses for his talkativeness and smiled, reminding herself not to flash the inappropriate fangs.

"Er... Thank you, Father."

"Must've noticed squirrels in the garden... - continued the monk thoughtfully, following Alucard's fixed gaze through the iron bars. - Father Anderson feeds them... He says the innocence of these creatures of God brings peace to his soul."

"Fa-father Anderson?"

"A guest here, from Italy. Works at an orphanage there... Children must like him, as animals do - he's a very kind person. - the man looked at the young girl and her melancholic pet on a leash and smiled. - If you stay here a bit longer... Father Anderson goes for a walk every night about this time. He'll be glad to meet you, I'm sure."

Seras squeezed out a bleak smile and shrugged. An occasional meeting of this sort was as wholeheartedly desired as a hole in her head. In fact, it could really cause one. Or many, taking in regard the usual work habits of the oh-so-kind Paladin...

"What's your dog's breed, my child? - the monk's attention switched to Alucard, who suddenly strained, still looking at the cottage inside the park. - Looks like he's some kind of a hound... And so big - a real monster!"

"It's a hellh... Erk... - Victoria's heart made a frantic leap at the realization what had nearly slipped off her tongue. Dratted Anderson, that should be his fault, occupying all her thoughts like that! - Just a Hertfordshire mutt, I mean! I picked him up there while visiting a village with friends... "

"A mutt, huh? Well, mutts are smarter than pedigrees, they say..."

"Oh yes, he's very smart! You'd never believe how..." - anxiously assured the girl and flinched at the barely audible but sinister growl, coming from her Master. The monk, who didn't seem to hear it, raised his brows.

"Are you all right, child? You look so troubled all of a sudden..."

"Ah-hah, nothing really... - despite the words, Victoria's facial expression was much more of the "uh-oh" category. - I've just realized... I've made a mistake at work recently. My boss must be terribly angry with me."

This honest statement was immediately proved by a violent lurch of the lead. Master seemed to lose all his interest in sightseeing, pulling his apprentice away with energy of a tow truck. Seras hardly managed to catch up with his swift movement not to be knocked down and hauled along the sidewalk in an utterly undignified fashion. An unclear shape in the deep twilight, the girl turned and waved her gloved hand: "Good bye, Father!"

"Bless you, child!" - the monk raised his hand too, when the lead jerked again and the object of the bless collided with a phone booth at the rate of some fifteen miles per hour. "Ughhh! Why on earth have you done that, Ma..." The rest of the phrase was cut off, as the two disappeared around the corner.

Looking at the quiet street, the man mused for a moment if it was safe for the girl to walk alone in the dark. Then he shook his head and smiled. Not alone. That dog of hers - what was his name? Something, starting from Ma-, perhaps... Matt? Max? The sound of heavy steps interrupted his thoughts, as he turned and greeted the guest from Italy, going for his usual night stroll.

* * *

Alucard stopped as abruptly as he started off the gates and turned to the crossing they had left a few moments ago. Victoria stopped too, bewildered, and looked down at her senior.

"Master, wha..."

"Shut up, cop, and watch."

The girl hesitated and stooped by the hellhound. This way the view was partly blocked with a car, parked close to the building, with only a narrow clearing left for watching whatever Master was expecting to see. Seconds ticked by... Nothing. Victoria blinked at the bright bluish cone of light from the streetlamp at the corner and at the moment she opened her eyes again her mouth opened too in a mute "oh". The long figure of the holy assassin was slowly walking there, mere fifty yards away. Apparently, their meeting would have been inevitable if they stayed by the gates a minute longer.

"There he goes, Mother Teresa in pants. - a voice in Seras's head dripped with bitter irony . - And I'll let him go, who'd ever believe... But only this time. Maxwell must get his surprise unspoiled, dear boy."

The girl glanced at the beast form of her senior, who silently watched his permanent enemy, and returned her gaze to Anderson. The priest slowed down, then stopped, looking around with a sudden suspicion. Seras froze under his searching stare, feeling naked without the reassuring weight of a weapon... Even if weapons were not much of help dealing with a regenerator. Ages seemed to drag by, when the Iscariots best operative resumed his ostentatious stride at last. She was still watching the empty crossing, when a menacingly soft voice behind her back made her startle:

"Now, cop, about that witty mutt part..."

Victoria carefully kept looking away, just shrank a bit.

"Turn, Seras. Look at me when I'm talking to you." - steel was clearly heard in Master's voice now and the young vampire reluctantly turned, but seemed to find the toes of her boots to be a way more interesting object for observation.

"Master, I..."

"...stuck a foot into your mouth as usual, I'm damn aware of that. - the vampire's heavy stare intensified. - But don't you - ever again..." The dog stopped in the middle of the notation and regarded the miserable expression creeping onto his apprentice's face. A few uneasy moments after the annoyed nosferatu jerked his tail and turned away.

"No flippancy about my bloodlines. Do you grasp, police girl?"

"Yes, Master! I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"Enough talk. Stay here and wait for me."

Victoria nodded and silently watched her senior, heading to the crossing they had left several minutes ago. The gray beast soundlessly flung away, a melting shadow on the edge of darkness. Victoria watched him turning to the left and disappearing from the sight. Where did he go? No explanations... And no doubt, still pissed. Oh, bloody hell... Everything seemed to go wrong this evening. Seras softly groaned and rested her gloved hands on the smooth metal of the car, brooding about for how long she should wait now. And... Surprise unspoiled? Was that supposed to mean... He still hoped to find the way into Iscariots stronghold?

* * *

Having made sure the way was clean, Alucard walked back to the dead end he had left Seras in. Damn, he hadn't intended to draw her into this scenario... He just had no particular reason to and plenty of reasons not to. What had gotten into him to let the policewoman join? He lingered at this thought and chuckled. Yeah, right. That cop's thought he had fished out of the whirlwind in her mind, right before he was going to cut her jabber off with a firm "no"... It was funny, it was weird, it was absolutely ridiculous... A fear?! Hah. Humans and undeads feared him and that was perfectly natural. But fearing for him? Now, that was a brand new concept... Surprising enough to make him quit the argument. Alucard stopped at the corner and listened to the voices, which disturbed his musing. Oh, great. A brawl already. The hellhound maneuvered closer, unseen by his apprentice and some human, whose face was purple almost to the point of glowing in the dark.

"...I'm calling the police! - the man made a demonstrative gesture with a cell phone in his left hand, holding Seras' elbow with his right one. - I'm sick and tired of you, street punks!"

Victoria looked increasingly huffed, but restrained herself.

"Look here, sir... I was just waiting for someone here. I didn't mean to do anything with your car. I only leaned on it. My apologies for that, but it isn't a crime."

She tried to sound as soothing and reasonable, as possible. Alas, it didn't stop the bellowing.

"Waiting?! Here in the dark? Wearing gloves in summer and with a chain in your hand? Hah! Don't give me that bullshit!"

Every phrase was punctuated with a shake, given to the captured elbow of the young vampire. Pretty soon Victoria's patience crumpled and she tried to reclaim her limb from the grip. Her push was considerably gentle, but made the man sway and stagger a few steps back. Unfortunately, it didn't cool the head of the righteous protector of his wheeled property. It only gave him another wrong idea.

"Don't you try fighting with me, you brat, or I'll paint you black and blue, I swear! I have a black belt and..."

"Black belt or red garter - it's irrelevant. Why don't you shut up, you noisy twit?" - the bass reverberation of a scornful voice came from somewhere very close. The man hastily swiveled here and there, but the only other person in the quiet dead end was that obnoxious little scum. She had the cheek to grin and murmur matter-of-factly:

"See? I was just waiting here. For him."

"For whom?!"

"For me. Are you not only dumb, but blind too?" - something moved by the side of his precious new Jaguar and a big dark dog stepped into the stripe of light.

For once, the man lost control over his vocal cords. The dog walked closer and sat down on the pavement, tilting the heavy head: "Satisfied? Then climb into your piece of junk and get the hell out of here. You're annoying, human."

The face of the scandal-stirrer was a curious study of eyes boggling. As in answer to it, blazing red sparkles started to appear on the high forehead of the hound. Eyes. Two rows of eyes were opening in order, making some sort of a nightmarish domino effect. The dog's body blurred and twisted, as a human hand tore its back, wielding an enormous black handgun. Being pointed right into the man's face, the weapon's muzzle appeared to be of a coconut size to him. The unreal creature on the pavement barked a short laughter and pressed on: "What are you waiting for?! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

Enough was enough. Uttering a sad little squeak, the tall figure in a three piece suit folded and fell on the ground with the grace of a sack of potatoes.

"Mwahaha!" - for the first time since Walter had brought the disturbing news Alucard's mood started to improve. - See, Seras? You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. It's a fundamental law of social life."

Victoria avoided to comment this wisdom and quickly bent over the senseless body to check its pulse. Succeeding to confirm the signs of vitality, she stood straight and presented her Master with a crooked smile.

"You are really into dramatic effects, Master."

"So what? Nothing like a bit of entertainment now and then. - a fanged smirk flashed on the height of seven feet, finishing the brief moment of shape shifting. - Besides, don't try to pretend it wasn't amusing."

"Uh-huh... Drop dead amusing. Well, nearly - for him. I've thought he popped an artery or something... - the blonde received a who-the-hell-cares shrug in answer to her remark and inquired, - Shall we leave him here? I wonder where he will run as soon as he regains consciousness - to a psychiatrist or to the closest church."

"Hmph. It's pretty easy to guarantee his absolute silence."

"How?"

"To suck his blood dry. A foolproof method."

Victoria cringed and vigorously shook her head.

"Stubborn as usual. All right. - Alucard picked the prone body by the collar and glanced at the car. The driver's door obediently opened and the man was arranged on the seat of the root of his recent troubles. The vampire critically regarded the installation and concluded. - This will do. He'll pass the whole thing for a weird dream without any further ado."

"Are you sure?"

"I've already mentioned the best way to be sure."

Seras approached the Jaguar and decisively closed the door, bottling its unconscious owner inside.

"Where are we going now, Master? Home?"

"No. - Alucard grinned as a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. - To the Underground. Have you forgotten? We've got a visit to pay. And if a frontal assault didn't work, let's go subterfuge."

* * *

Alucard and Victoria were sitting in the third car from the front of the train. As midnight was close, the tube was poorly populated. However, Alucard had meticulously chosen the carriage with the lest amount of people. The only other passengers were an old lady, sitting close to the door, and two dozy youths in baggy clothes in front of the vampires. They looked peaceful and relaxed, reclining their heads on each other. Their reposeful attitude could be a result of an extreme tiredness... But apparently it had another reason - a strong emanation of alcohol came from the lads, surrounding their bench with a smelly aura. Victoria wrinkled her nose and noticed the similar grimace on the face of the old woman across the littered aisle. The lady glowered at the sleeping doves and moved her gaze on Victoria. Having regarded her with the same disapproval, the old woman compressed her lips in a thin line and looked away. Seras frowned. What's wrong? She sneakily looked over her clothes. Everything seemed to be OK. Hm. The girl craned her neck to look at her face in the window glass in front of her, but the reflection was too dim. She squinted her eyes to her nose, still trying to figure if she had anything on her face. Alucard, whose attention had been drawn by an accidental push in his side, chuckled.

"Lovely expression. Don't forget to make it next time you take a pic for Hellsing ID."

Slightly embarrassed, Seras quickly returned her eyes to the normal position. When she looked up, the old woman was staring at the vampires again. Her attention was starting to bug Victoria.

"Master, that old lady in the corner... "

"Mm?" - black eyebrows rose above the sunglasses in lazy interest.

"She's glowering at us all the time. Weird..."

Alucard shrugged.

"Being weird isn't considered an atrocity among humans. If it were, three quarters of these old islands' population would be in jail."

"Yes, but... Maybe she guessed what we are?"

"Getting paranoid, Seras? - No Life King's laugh was almost a sneer and the girl stiffened unhappily, but a moment later a low voice in her mind continued. - Most humans don't believe in our existence now... Even when they become a prey, they stay unsuspecting till the last minute. They just don't want to suspect, and this tiny block in their minds would always make them turn a blind eye to things not fitting the picture. To save themselves from truth they would find a comfortable explanation to any strangeness... Including the fact that one eye of yours is blue, and the other - red. You've lost your lens somewhere, cop."

Seras hissed through her teeth in dismay. How hadn't she noticed it earlier? Damn. To ruin the cover like that... Alucard only smirked, apparently amused with the whole matter.

"Big deal, the lady probably takes you for a crazy goth. Like that Manson fellow Walter showed me on TV once... Funny kid."

"But I'm not dressed black!"

"That's why I said 'crazy'. When will you reset your obsession with pink at last, police girl? It's outrageous."

"As soon as you reset your habit wearing riding boots with a suit, Master."

"And what's so wrong about my boots?"

"Same here. What's so wrong about pink? Everyone has their own habits."

"Habits?! Bah. They don't deserve this name until they're a century old. At least."

Victoria winced. A certain someone was such a snob sometimes, really... And oversecretive too. She sat back and started wondering what could bring them to the house behind the holy seal. Her senior had briefly mentioned some 'other possible ways', before dragging her to the tube... But didn't bother to explain anything more.

Meanwhile the train slowed and stopped at a station, where the old lady got off, carrying the secret of her indignant glances away along with three packets and a handbag. No one entered, and the doors hissed closed.

"How convenient..." - murmured Alucard, took off his glasses and carefully tucked them into the inner pocket. His ruby eyes sparkled brightly in the lights of the salon, casting a calculating look around. The train was speeding up in the tunnel, occasional screeching of metal against metal eerie in the silence of the car. The next station was about five minutes away.

Victoria looked at the older vampire with curiosity when he suddenly rose to his feet.

"What's the matter, Master?"

"Nothing special. We're getting off."

"But the station..."

Without any further discussion Alucard stretched his arm and pulled Seras up. Still holding her hand, the nosferatu slyly grinned:

"Have you ever jumped from moving tube trains, Seras? Rare fun, that."

The startled expression on his fledgling's face told volumes without words and he laughed.

"Thought so. Come here. Hurry, or we'll miss the turn."

Still hesitating, the girl made a step to her Master. Somewhere behind Alucard's back one of the spirited away bums moved and uttered an inarticulate noise.

Holding Seras under his arm, the vampire quickly walked through the wall. The half-awake fellow on the seat mumbled "Fucking Matrix..." and blinked. Then he dropped his head on his friend's shoulder and returned to the spinning world behind his eyelids.

* * *

Concrete walls with cables running along them were replaced by old flaking limestone when the undeads passed the next T-turn, provided with a rusty iron door. Judging by its appearance, nobody had opened it for at least thirty years. This corridor was considerably narrower and the first signs of claustrophobia stood to attention in Victoria's case. Something else answered the roll-call in her head too and this whispering presence was extremely disturbing. The feeling grew with every step and in an attempt to hush it Seras stammered:

"Is it far yet, Master?"

"We're almost there. Follow me."

Oh yeah. Right. Follow the white rabbit... The girl sighed. Not that they were going to Wonderland though. About hundred yards more and Victoria came to a halt not to run into her Master's back. Alucard stood, pressing his gloved hand to the wall to the left; his profile hidden with suddenly long hair.

"We've come, cop. Here, touch."

The girl reluctantly obeyed and at the moment her palm touched the rough surface, her teeth clenched with an audible click. A flood of dark energy rushed into her, making the blood boil in her veins. Screams... Black billows of smoke, filling the sky... Mournful sound of bells... Gutters, full of garbage and rats... Half-coherent pleas of the dying... Howls of a dog, being beaten to death... Decaying corpses in a rattling death wagon... All this flashed on with growing speed, melting the borders of sanity with every second. Straining the last grains of self-control, Seras broke the contact with the wall and staggered a few steps back, pressing a hand to the burning forehead. She was shivering, and, as Victoria absently realized, the salty taste in her mouth came from bleeding imprints of teeth on her lower lip.

"What... - the voice was hoarse and breaking; Victoria swallowed a lump in her throat and went on. - What was that?"

"The reason why old cities are preferred by vampires. They have cursed places like this, storing human suffering. - the nosferatu still held his hand on the stone of the wall, his eyes shone in the dark. - Have you felt it, Seras? I see that you have... It's even stronger underground. All the centuries haven't weakened its energy."

"You haven't answered my question!"

"It's a plague pit. They died in heaps back then, and were buried in heaps, and exhausted priests failed to attend all the burial sites where they were needed. This is one of such places... I've found a breach in the holy barrier at last. It's our way up, police girl."

The undead blonde took a involuntary step back, looking at her senior with widened eyes.

"Through this?! I... I can't... "

"You can and you will. - Alucard's eyes narrowed. - You've gotten too far to say no, cop."

Victoria only shook her head, stepping back again and bracing herself with both hands.

"Damn it! Can you do a single thing without arguing or refusing?! I'm sick and tired of that! - Alucard felt rage rising in him, as the memories of the girl's constant reluctance came to his mind. Starting from the blood drinking matter... He bared his set teeth and gripped Seras's shoulders with both hands. - When you asked me to take you along, did you think you would walk to Iscariots' place like a princess of state, treading on rose petals all the fucking way?! You stupid stubborn..." He abruptly stopped, meeting the gaze of eyes of the same ruby shade as his. Tears silently welled in them; their look was filled with hurt. He slowly exhaled and unclenched the fingers, which had dug deep into Victoria's flesh. He didn't let go of her shoulders though; only came on one knee to level their faces.

"Victoria... You are a vampire - not human. Ways and means you are due now are not always human either. You must learn about them if there's a chance to do so, no matter how terrible or repulsive they would seem to you. One day or one night you may need them - badly. We are immortals... or die in the attempt to be them. - a palm with a sealing sigil on its back slowly slid up and cupped the cheek of the girl, gently brushing the tears with its thumb. - I really don't like the idea of the latter for you."

Seras's stiff shoulder relaxed a little under his touch and, strangely relieved, he continued: "Besides, all we need is a point of destination to teleport to. Teleportation doesn't take any time, and it'll take a split second to leave the spot once you're done. Did you really think we'd be crawling there, among rotten bones and worms? Hmph. It's ridiculous. Unforgivable faux pas, as Walter once said, referring to a harmless joke I had played on that stuffed moron of a Knight from MI-5..."

This time he managed to bring forth a faint smile on Victoria's face. Smiling back, he whispered: "Nothing bad can happen to you, while I'm beside. And I will be. Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Good girl."

Having briskly touched Victoria's lips with his mouth, Alucard got up and locked his arms on the girl's waist. Seras put her hands on his forearms and looked up into his face.

"Ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Houston, do you hear me? All controls - clear, we are going up!"

The world blinked. As soon as their feet touched the tiled floor on the other end of their instant travel, the vampires made a leap aside to leave the cursed spot. Only then they looked around. The vast dark place turned out to be an H-shaped basement and Alucard muttered: "Bull's eye." Victoria nodded and walked a few feet to look around the corner. For a couple of seconds she peered into the dark, then rapidly withdrew and grabbed her senior's sleeve.

"Master! Anderson must be here! There's somebody by the far wall, he's all studded with blades and the body hasn't turned into ash yet!!!"

Alucard's hand dived to the holster under his coat, as he quickly approached the corner and stopped there, scanning the surroundings. Suddenly his shoulders began to shake and Seras twitched in worry. Her worry increased, as strange sounds started to reach her ears. Master was... grunting? Did the contact with the plague pit finally get to his mind? Oh no...

The nosferatu turned. His red eyes were brightly twinkling above the left hand, firmly pressed to the lower half of his face. He leaned against the wall and glanced at the alarmed girl. The peculiar grunting became louder, turning into a muffled laugh.

"Seras... You..." - a violent fit of cackling broke Alucard's voice and he covered his mouth with the second hand, still with the Jackal in it. Managing to stomp his joy down a bit, he finally continued:

"No wonder the guy hasn't turned into ash yet... Heh-heh... Do you know whom have you seen? The dude's name is St.Sebastian and know what? He's made of porcelain! Mwa-hah... Damn. And there are no blades - there are arrows, and they are bloody porcelain too!"

Seras quickly peeked at the object in question and felt blood rushing into her cheeks. Oops... A screwup. She sulkily glowered at the Very Annoyingly Amused vampire and mumbled:

"The statue is of a human height... And well painted to boot."

"Oh, sure! Quite humanoid! Heh-heh... Despite the fact it lacks a nose and two fingers on the hand..."

Victoria shielded with half-offended half-awkward silence and pursed her lips. When the last chuckle faded away, Alucard sighed:

"You never cease to amaze me... You are priceless, Victoria. Now, let's go. The surprise party in Maxwell's bedroom is just about to start."

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

Integra caught herself on reading the same line for the third time, but the content of the dratted phrase still had no intention to settle in her mind. She groaned and dropped the pen she was holding to mark her way through the bureaucratic beauties of the next year budget's draft. According to the General Law of World's Meanness, the pen jovially rolled across the desk and, after a cunning moment of balancing on its edge, finally made its mind and tipped over. Lady Hellsing muttered a curious theory, involving the pen, its non-existent mother and a mind-boggling picture of their sexual relationship. It helped, but not drastically enough. Integra groaned again and dug both arms into her hair, carefully massaging the aching head. Oh, God. She eyed her workplace with vast and sour distaste. A computer. A phone. And a whole frigging stack of papers. Do they breed like crazy every moment she doesn't look?! Jesus Christ, what a frightful idea... A brief sign of weakness - a sudden desire to press her head against the smooth, cold wood of the desk - was promptly aborted by a feeling that her scull was miraculously swapped for a crystal vase. Heavy. Empty. With "Fragile. Handle with care." in blazing letters across the forehead. And with a wind, howling inside... Stop! Lady Hellsing sat straight. Right, these nasty howls were not a result of her overused mind running wild. They were... bloody real. She frowned, as her narrowed eyes surveyed the study for the source of the sounds. Ah-hah. How v. curious. The fireplaces of Hellsing manor were seldom used since less bothersome means of heating had appeared; but being left sitting in their places they pierced the whole building with pipelines of chimneys... And these chimneys could conduct sound quite nicely instead of smoke they had been designed for. Integra got up and walked to the fireplace, trying to figure what on earth (or in her household, being more precise) could produce such a bizarre noise. Hellsing leader quirked a brow, musing. A wind, echoing in the chimney? Hmm, no. Sometimes it sounded almost... articulate. Besides, for all the years of her life in the family mansion she had never heard anything of the kind. Thank God for His little mercies... Integra thoughtfully tapped fingers on the mantelpiece. All right. She couldn't sleep, having got used to sleepless nights of the massive anti-FREAK operations lately. She definitely couldn't face the paperwork right now. Besides, this matter should be investigated. Most likely, the sound came from the library, one floor below...

* * *

Due to the late hour and a temporary decrease of Hellsing field activity, the hallways of the third floor were deserted and still. Integra turned to the staircase and stopped for a moment to light a cigar, when heavy footfalls from below stated the presence of another insomniac. Having descended to the second floor and leaning over the balustrade, Hellsing leader stared, her eyebrows flicking up in surprise. Hellsing's loyal butler a.k.a. the Angel of Death, always neat, tidy and groomed even in the middle of a messy fight, looked certainly... ruffled. In more ways than one. Standing on the softly lighted first floor landing with some heavy object in his hands, Walter performed the weirdest thing Integra could ever recall. Positioning his body weight on one leg, he shook, jerked and swung his other leg in the air. The butler's ballet suite was accompanied with heavy breathing and peculiar soft thumping. Suddenly the man swayed off balance and almost dropped the thing clutched in his hands. Integra swayed in unison, determined to rush to help her old vassal and friend, but Walter was standing firmly already, with his both feet on the floor.

"Get lost, you bloody bastard!" - Walter's voice almost toppled Integra over her marble perch in shock. What the hell could make the reserved old man roar like that?! She walked down to the butler who turned and headed towards the mouth of the kitchen corridor, slightly dragging his right leg.

"What's the matter, Walter? - Integra frowned at the strange limping pattern of her servant's pace. Rheumatism? She walked faster. - Do you need a hand?"

The butler spun on his heels and bowed his head to the mistress of the House.

"Ah, thank you, m'lady. - he puffed a few stray tresses of hair from his face and, after a second of hesitation, continued. - Er... Could you please take this animal off my leg?"

Integra's confused inquiry of "What animal?" faded away when she walked closer and witnessed the reason of all the wonders in her butler's recent behavior. Almost invisible on a black tile of the well polished black-and-white stone floor, there was Pussy, stretching itself up Walter's leg, clawing it securely with one upper paw and waving the other in frantic "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme that at once!". Hellsing leader traced the longing stare of numerous ruby eyes and found the Harconnen ammo box at its other end. Shrugging, Integra squatted by the furry culprit and started to disengage Pussy's grip claw by claw. The cat emitted a frustrated yowl and attempted to restore its anchoring position on Walter's starboard with its free limb. Busy with arm-paw wrestling, Integra glanced up at Walter. He had an extremely embarrassed look on his face.

"I'm very sorry for bothering you, Lady Integra..."

Integra only briefly snorted in answer, too occupied with anti-feline tactics.

"So, Walter. What's the meaning of all this? - unhooking the last desperate claw, she stood up, holding the squirming body of the demonic pet under her arm. - And where are you taking this? It's Sergeant Seras's, I suppose. Any problems with it?"

The butler sighed and put the box on the floor to wipe his sweaty forehead. Integra absently thought that everyday route of several hundred steps to the dungeon and back must have been a not too easy task for the seventy years old man. Leaving aside the fact that he had brought the 100 lbs ammo box all the way up this time. Should she order a lift shaft to be installed there? Hmm... She'd consider it. Later.

"You are right, Lady Integra, it's Miss Victoria's ammunition. But the only problem with it is this particular brat in your arms... Mmm... It's getting free, Lady Integra."

Integra got a better hold on her wriggling and lustily mewing captive and quirked an eyebrow for continuation. Walter scowled at the feline and went on.

"I went to the dungeons to see if everything was Okay there... I had a bad foreboding. So, when I entered Miss Victoria's chamber, this creature had got into the ammo box, and pretended that rounds were rats, and jumped there - killing them, I assume - and threw out a few depleted uranium ones, and kicked them about the place... Till I managed to land it with... Hm-hm. Miss Victoria's room is an unholy mess now, I'm afraid."

Integra just shook her head.

"Good job, Walter. And where's Seras? She's supposed to keep an eye on this walking mischief."

Walter compressed his lips for a moment: "She does, usually - as far as it's ever possible. But Miss Seras left for a walk at sunset. With Lord Alucard."

"At sunset, huh? That was plenty of time ago. I do hope those two aren't doing anything stupid..."

The old man cast a quizzical look at the brooding Master of Monster and carefully muttered: "It depends on what you are calling stupid."

"Knowing Alucard - unnecessary homicide and bloodsucking, of course. What else?"

"Ah, that... - the old man bent to the ammo pack and picked it up with apparent difficulty. - No, m'lady, I truly believe they wouldn't do anything of the kind tonight."

Integra pondered for a while, weighing the idea of summoning Alucard back and interrogating him for the reason of such a long absence without any mission in the city whatsoever. That was strange; no less strange was Walter's tone when he had spoken about the topic... Ah, yes. She recalled another strangeness she had had plans to investigate. Integra raised her head.

"Walter, do you know what's going on in the library?"

"Library? - The butler turned, putting the ammo box down again. - I have no idea... Anything out of order there?"

"That's what I want to know. I heard something from there. Through the chimney."

"Did it sound hazardous, milady?"

"Just weird. Something like a... - Integra noticed that her cigar had gone off and bit it with irritation. Would she ever manage to smoke a single damned thing to the end? - Never mind. I'm going to check it now."

"Oh. - Walter seemed agitated but knew better than to argue with his commander. - Please, allow me to join you, Lady Integra."

Integra shrugged, pulling out a .38 automatic and checking its ammo. This time was enough for the butler to don his notorious work gloves. He checked the wires to go out smoothly and stood to attention. Integra nodded and took a lead up the stairs.

* * *

Entering the antechamber next to the heavy double doors of the manor's library, Hellsing leader grinned darkly, feeling the fresh portion of additional adrenaline in her blood melting away the hovering headache. Thus the investigation proved not worthless already. Her gloved palm clasped the brass handle on the door and pulled. The self-picked strike-force of two quietly darted through the doors and slid behind the closest bookcase, true to the habit not to step into the open without checking every possible hostile vantage point. However, this time their searching attention was promptly attracted not by a glimpse of movement, but with an obtrusive sound stream. At the opposite end of the vast library chamber, in front of the enormous carved fireplace, there was Pip Bernadotte, dressed in civvies and having his almost knee-long blond hair unbraided. Looking extremely pleased with himself, he was torturing a guitar and... Huh. Now Integra came to clear understanding of the source of eardrums-abusing sounds.

"Shiiine!!! - bellowed Captain Goldielocks, closing his eyes, shaking his head and smiling like a lunatic. - Shiine dooown on me! Shiiine down on this life that's burning oooooout!"

"I'd rather have the headache." - muttered Integra, holstering her gun. The fuzzy verminoid under her arm pitifully mewed as if in acknowledgement and squeezed its ears flat to the head.

The mercenary still wasn't aware of their presence in the room, so the butler quickly strode to the tall figure by the fireplace and, pulling the headphones down from Bernadotte's head, icily required: "What are you doing here, Captain?"

"Oh, hello. - Pip blinked and returned to reality. - I've been chilling out a bit."

"Figured already. But why here?"

"Well, uh, guys in the barracks down there have some issues when it comes to good music. And you allowed me to use the library anytime. I asked yesterday, remember?"

"Yes, I did, but..." - Walter's gaze swept the battlefield on a nearby coffee table, bearing two owerflowing ashtrays, numerous beer cans and a sixpack of Guinness yet on standby.

Integra eventually noticed the ash falling from the cigarette in the corner of Pip's mouth right onto an oriental carpet under his feet and her brow twitched. The carpet had been brought into the mansion by her ancestor about a century ago and, by God, deserved better attitude. Valentine bros. & Co had brought more than enough damage to her property already, dammit.

"Watch your cigarette, Captain. - walking up to the fireplace and facing her subordinates, she coldly added - Or you'll be a living illustration to your song's lyrics."

Walter glowered at the mercenary and handed him an ashtray. Meanwhile Hellsing leader continued: "Walter, take care of Seras's belongings. As the cat is unlockable, lock the ammo itself. Besides, take some silver forks from the kitchen and put them between and over the rounds. Bury them in silver. Let's hope it'll eliminate the risks of the second attempt in case the creature finds the box."

"I shall do my humble best, Lady Integra."

The butler sketched an affirmative bow and headed to the exit. Integra sat down on a comfortable couch, leaned back and closed her tired eyes for a second. The same second the annoying strumming of Bernadotte's instrument resumed. The cat under her arm suddenly twitched and twisted, leaving her somewhat relaxed grip. Lady Hellsing opened her eyes just to catch the sight of the hissing black lightning leaping onto the mercenary and biting the strings of his guitar in half with one quick snap of jaws. Pip drew back with an indignant exclamation. Integra smirked and eyed Pussy with newfound fondness. Still, the beast wasn't worthless after all, having a good musical ear and reactions of a natural predator. Good kitty indeed.

Picking the cat up and returning to the couch, she concluded that the rare good deed of the pet deserved praise.

"Walter!"

"Yes, milady?" - came from behind the door.

"Bring the cat an extra meal. Full portion. And a cup of camomile tea for me."

"As you wish, milady."

* * *

A few blissful moments of silence stretched in the library until Bernadotte settled on the second couch in front of Integra and casually asked: "So, what's up with Victoria's ammo?"

Integra only raised her brows and glared at the mercenary. He seemed to catch the hint and quickly added: "Ma'am. Er... Sir. Hell, what's the right way?"

The light eyebrows of the Protestant Knight rose higher. Finally she decided to discard the faux pas due to the obvious reasons, covering the coffee table, and dryly answered:

"Both."

"Both?! How's that?"

Integra sighed.

"In official occasions I'm Sir Integral Hellsing. Salic law doesn't allow to pass the title of a Knight to females. Hence I'm officially considered a man."

"Salic law? Knight?" - the explanation seemed to leave the Wild Goose even more confused.

"Never mind. - Integra didn't have the slightest intention to describe the complicated history of her heritage at 3 a.m. - Call me ma'am if you wish. Or Lady Integra."

Still having a puzzled expression on his face, the mercenary scratched his head, shrugged and reached for the sixpack. Taking a can for himself, he pulled out another one and smirked at his commander.

"Do you want some? Ma'am, as this occasion doesn't seem official."

Integra negatively shook her head, rejecting the offer. This captain's behavior was too different comparing to all the other subordinates of hers. Excluding Alucard, of course. He alone provided enough obnoxiety to fill Integra's patience quota to the limit.

"You don't seem to follow the subordination etiquette too much, Captain Bernadotte."

The mercenary shrugged again, opening the can and holding it over an ashtray till a tiny cloud of foam settled.

"Am I? Well, sorry 'bout that... 'S a habit, I reckon, cuz that's how the business goes in our job. All our employers usually care is the job properly done, and if you screw up - well, doh... Etiquette bullshitting won't help and you'll pay with your ass."

A corner of Integra's mouth involuntarily curved up.

"So, and what is your rear side's state at the current moment, Captain?"

"Still intact. - Pip saluted her with the can, took a sip from it and smirked. - And am I monitoring it... Lady Integra, ma'am."

Hellsing leader resisted the intention of her mouth to form a full-fledged grin. An 'arrogant beyond any cure' diagnosis, made once by notably huffed Sergeant Seras, seemed to prove right. Integra got up and placed the heavy body of the cat on Captain's knees.

"Hold it for a minute."

Pip cautiously put a hand on Pussycat's back, while the young woman walked up to the wall and stopped at a wall, lined with bookshelves with brass signs "Alchemy" on them. A push on a discreet wooden panel and a couple of shelves with ancient incunabula on them turned around an invisible axis with a creak, revealing a small cabinet with crystal flasks and glasses in it. Integra peeked into the opening, but no familiar-looking boxes were at their usual place. Integra winced. Damn, Walter had probably taken her cigars away during Dr. Travelian's smoking ban and forgot to put them back when the crisis was over... Or didn't do that intentionally. Walter had his own subtle ways to show his disapproval, when he wanted to. The disgruntled Lady of the House rubbed her temple. Well hell... She poured some dark amber liquid into a glass and turned to the mercenary. The man and the demon cat watched her manipulations with equal vivid curiosity.

"Neat furniture you've got here. - Pip's drawling baritone was almost purring, as his gaze lingered on the glass in Integra's hand. - _Very neat_."

"Why, thank you. - Integra tilted her head, shooting an ironic glance at the Captain, and picked another glass. - Want some?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The mercenary looked at the liquid, smelled it and finally took the first swig.

"Whoa! I always knew that the greatest wonders of the world dwell in libraries. Real alchemy indeed!"

"This batch of brandy was purchased by my father. About forty years ago."

"Now I understand why you keep vampires in the cellar. Wise security decision, if there is any more of this stuff down there, I mean."

The cat suddenly wriggled under Pip's palm and Integra frowned, not sure if Walter had finished hiding Pussy's non-appropriate toys.

"Hold it tighter."

The man nodded and tightened the grip.

"Why 'it' all the time, by the way? Don't you know its gender? Or it doesn't have one?"

Lady Hellsing made a vague gesture with her glass.

"Never bothered to find it out. I have other pressing problems, you know... Feel free to make this discovery by yourself if you're that curious about it."

"C'mon, fatso, don't be shy!" - Bernadotte actually tried to roll the cat on its back and the creature emitted a sinister hiss, demonstrating its fangs. The naturalist wannabe quickly withdrew and Integra smirked, concentrating on a faint wave of relaxing dizziness in her head. Fatigue plus no habit for alcohol whatsoever, hmmm... Maybe the booze'd aid her to have some sleep this night.

"Frankly speaking, I think the cat's male, even if it behaves like a real bitch sometimes. Reminds me of its Master's Master." - she added on autopilot, returning to the thought about the whereabouts of her most troublesome servant. Not that she missed any remarks from the bloody ceiling, but... He'd better behave. For his own good, or she...

Pip, caught with a mouthful of brandy, choked and sprayed it on the indignant cat in his lap, fighting simultaneous fits of laughter and cough.

"What's the matter, Captain?"

"Er... Nothing, ma'am. - the mercenary was red in the face and grunting cheerfully. - It's just really seldom to hear such self-criticism."

It took tired Integra a few seconds to realize the sense of the last remark. When she finally did, she exploded.

"What driveling idiocy you're blabbing about! The cat's Master is Victoria Seras! And who's her Master?"

"You?"

"Hell no! Not directly, I mean. Her Master is Alucard and I'm his Master! Got it already?!!!"

Captain Bernadotte had certain problems with making his face politely bland. When he succeeded at last, he nodded.

"Guess I've got it, thanks for the lecture. So, in other words, you're Pussy's great-grandmaster?"

Sir Integral Falbourke Wingates Hellsing, the leader of Hellsing organisation, protector of Her Majesty the Queen and the British empire and, at last but not least, a Knight of the Round Table felt her head spin at this new title of hers. Painfully spin, confound it.

"Captain Bernadotte." - she snapped in her best arctic tone.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Yes, ma'am."

A couple of minutes passed in tense silence. Then Integra looked right into Captain's eye.

"One more thing. I don't want you to repeat this fancy definition of yours any more. Especially... - she made an intimidating pause. - ... especially in Alucard's presence."

"I...er... fully understand, Lady Integra. I've got enough experience already to be pretty damn careful with words in his presence."

"Oh, really? - Integra's lips performed a small upward crook. - My condolences."

She took off her spectacles and gently pinched the bridge of her nose. Sleepiness started to show up. Twenty minutes more - and it would be so nice to go upstairs and finally take some nap... She would only wait for Walter's report.

Right at this moment the cat on Bernadotte's knees suddenly uttered a blood-curdling yell. Despite Pip's attempts to hold it down, the creature sprang up, its fur standing up all over its body, all four pairs of its red eyes opening wide and burning hideously. It screamed again - this time it sounded like an agonizing moan - and vanished in the air. The humans exchanged astonished looks. All of a sudden Integra Hellsing had a nasty feeling that her chances to sleep that night had just undertaken a joyride down the drains.

* * *

It seemed that their careful wanderings of trial and error about the guest house finally came to an end. It happened when after the N-th dive through the wall and back Victoria stopped for a moment to look at a big golden-framed picture on the opposite wall. It bore a bunch of men in Roman Centurions uniform and a few ecstatic persons, sporting something like torn bed sheets. If not for halos around the heads of the bedsheeted folk, the depicted scene might have been a lavish illustration to a costumed BDSM party, judging by the number of whips, chains and suspiciously looking devices in use. Hm. Victoria bent to read an inscription under the picture and right at that moment her Master re-emerged from the oiled surface. Seras raised her gaze at his face and an involuntary but strong associative image of a delighted crocodile sprang to her mind.

"Found?"

"Yeah. - the vampire grinned even broader. - Shall we?" He made a flourish inviting gesture with his left hand and lead the way into the bedroom.

The room was pitch dark; even a faint glow of streetlights through its three high windows was blocked with heavy drapes. Seras paused for a second, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness after the dim but existing lighting of the hallway. All of a sudden she started to feel increasingly uneasy, intruding someone's most private territory like that. She knew that there could be no other chance to bring some understanding into the head of Iscariots' chief, she remembered that due to Lady Integra's order Master couldn't do any physical harm to the man, she kept repeating to herself that Hellsing really owed this Vatican ferret and his lot some major distresses... Still, the light rhythmic breath of the only living being in the room rooted her to the spot, her mind numb with confusing doubts. Meanwhile her senior casually walked up to the big bed at the wall and stopped there, contemplating its slumbering occupant.

"Lock the door, Seras, and come here. Time to begin, I'd say."

The girl turned to the door to execute the orders and squinted her eyes, when the bedside lamp switched on. She looked back, surprised, and quickly crossed the room, waiting for the sputtering reaction of the bishop, whose slumber was interrupted by two vampires in the middle of the night. However, the only reaction followed was some rustles of bed sheets. Then the sleepy breathing resumed in the same key.

"Hm. - murmured Alucard, glancing at his fledgling, who stood by his side and gawked at the bed. - Rather minimalist dressing style, don't you think?"

Enrico Maxwell peacefully slept on his stomach, one of his legs was pulled up and aside, folded, while the other lay gracefully stretched. The pose somehow reminded of a flamingo, standing in shallow waters. His hands embraced the pillow his head rested on. A coverlet hanged down to the floor, being obviously kicked off in sleep, and thus revealed the fact that Iscariots' chief hadn't bothered himself to don anything but briefs.

"Awww... Quite a shame to wake him up, but life's a jungle." - Alucard's booted foot slowly rose with clear intention to come in contact with the stretched fabric of the only item of Maxwell's clothing. Victoria made a small noise, startled with the rudeness of the action, but her Master seemed to reconsider it already. He put his foot back on the floor and smirked.

"OK, let's play along the rules. Integra told me not to lay a finger on him, guess toes count as well."

The vampire looked around, spotted a chair by a dressing table and pulled it up to the scene. Settling comfortably in it and crossing his legs, he regally nodded to his apprentice.

"You wake him up, police girl."

Victoria cringed, but walked up to the side of the bed and bent to the sleeping man.

"Mr. Maxwell, er... Wake up, sir."

No reaction. After a second of hesitation she got hold of Maxwell's shoulder and shook him with increasing magnitude. Finally the priest uttered a displeased grunt, rolled over on his back and informed the world that he would like his coffee with cream and that Anderson should be excommunicated if he cut a pie with his fucking knives ever again. After such a revelation he sunk back into oblivion, slightly snoring this time. Alucard chuckled evilly. Victoria straightened up in dismay and noticed a small plastic bottle on the bedside table.

"Ativan. Now I see."

"Mmm?"

"Sleeping pills. He's probably on them."

This won a skeptical snort from Master.

"Ha! Proceed. So far these pills don't contain cyanide or something along the lines, our sleeping beauty is fairly prone to waking. Even without a kiss."

"Gee, thanks for the deep insight, Doctor Professor Alucard." - growled Seras under her breath, returning to the role of Maxwell's alarm-clock. Woe to her, all the efforts were happily neglected and the Iscariots leader kept sacking zzzs.

"True sleep of the just. - came a comment from the stalls' only seat. - Chemically aided just, though... Enough, Seras, this won't take us anywhere. Time to change the tactics. Cut his breath."

"What?!!!"

"Quit yelling, cop, as if I've told you to strangle him with your bare hands! Doh!"

Victoria swung around to reward her senior with a militantly suspicious squint: "Haven't you?"

"Of course not. Do it with your gloves on, if you wish. Mwahaha!"

"Masssterrr!!!"

"The idea bears certain charms... But I've meant just a temporary blockade of his ventilation system. Cover his nose and mouth with a hand and he'll spring up like electroshocked Lazarus."

"Is it really safe? What if..."

"Puh-leeease. Walter still shows signs of life, after all."

"You tried this on him?!"

"Yeah. - Alucard snorted and thoughtfully rubbed his neck, as if touching an invisible line across it. - Many years ago."

"Omigod..." - the girl sighed and, after a moment of hesitation, followed her Master's tip.

* * *

The lack of oxygen was brutally efficient, kickstarting the reflexes and making Maxwell twitch and yank his head away.

"Gak! - Enrico's long eyelashes fluttered. - Geroff, Buffonard!"

He groaned and tried to turn on his side, when a firm hand on his shoulder made this attempt futile.

"Wake up, Mr.Maxwell."

The voice was feminine and high-pitched, probing the swamp of his slumber with its utter unfamiliarity. The priest opened one bleary eye and drowsily contemplated the unclear image in front of him.

"Whazzemarer?" - he observed in a sleepy voice. The figure stood straight and made a step back, retreating into the thick twilight behind the light circle.

"Mission accomplished, Master." - the voice of the stranger sounded rather sour.

"Heh. Well done, police girl."

A screech of a moving chair, some rustles, one or two heavy footfalls. A tall lanky shape was there, looming over the bed.

"Enriiiico! - a deep voice was laden with enthusiasm, nastily non-appropriate for this time of the night. - You have some 'splaining to do!"

The green eyes of the Iscariot leader instantly opened wide, as he bolted upright. _This_ voice was recognizable ad nauseam.

"Pray do not get up for us, Father... Hey!"

The coverlet rapidly slipped over Maxwell's body, wrapping around it and firmly covering his mouth, opened for a cry. Under the guiding stare of a pair of red eyes the piece of white fabric tightened its grip, making the priest look like a neatly packed donation to the British Museum. Way too lively for a respectable mummy, though. Enrico's bug-eyed stare of a man introduced to a poisonous snake quickly switched to a glower of concentrated ferocity above the upper edge of the improvised muffler, while the Iscariots leader desperately arched his back and rolled from side to side, trying to break free.

"Let me get it straight. - Alucard's expression bore a mix of rage and amusement, as of a hunting cat. - If we had wanted to kill you or.. say, do something more creative to your body, we'd have done it already. Now, can we just sit and talk, like civilized... creatures?"

The gazes of the green and red eyes clashed and the bystander Victoria uneasily shifted her feet. The atmosphere was getting ionized with tension. At last the priest allowed a slow and extensively reluctant nod. The fabric loosened and Maxwell sat up in the bed.

"Nosferatu!" - he grated, rubbing his wrist and glaring at the visitors.

"Well, yes. - The No Life King resettled in the armchair, tenting his fingers and watching the priest with deceptively relaxed air. - Sorry, but Tinkerbell is busy in another shift... And you are kinda old for a tooth fairy, you know. Or you've expected a bogey man from the closet?"

"I've expected a coherent talk! Guess it's too much for someone, whose brain can't be qualified as living! - snapped the bishop. After a moment of silence he ran his fingers through the disheveled mass of ash-blond hair and glumly muttered. - So, what does she want?"

"Actually, it depends on which female acquaintance of yours you are talking about." - remarked Alucard in an inviting tone of an experienced shrink, pulling on a face of profoundly feigned serenity.

Maxwell didn't quite grind his teeth, but almost. Nevertheless, he managed to keep his voice leveled.

"I wouldn't bother to question you about the wishes of, say, my nuns...or the little murderess by your side either."

"I've never killed a single human being! - being jerked out of her silent observer's position, Seras stiffened and made a step forward. - Pity, but it's not something your own subordinates can brag about. Anderson attacked and slaughtered Hellsing human troopers, did it brutally and I can personally testify to that as a witness!!! "

"You see, cop, Iscariots' key word here is 'Hellsing', not 'human'. - drawled Alucard, putting his hand around Victoria's hand and pulling her to sit down on his chair arm. - The more heretics go to Hell the better, eh, Enrico? Any means are perfectly fine if they suit the purpose. By the way, Machiavelli would have praised you concerning your latest stunt... If you'd managed not to leave tracks."

"Nice rhetoric. Still, I'd swapped it for a few hours of unperturbed sleep anytime... What do you want, vampire? Succinctly, if you can."

"Succinctly? Sure. Sweet little Elisabeth, Maxwell. Rings any bells?"

Enrico's eyes narrowed: "Yes. Continue."

* * *

Gah. Victoria clasped her hands between her knees and sat very still, warily taking in the words, intonations, body language of the two opponents. Trying to figure... what? How all this supposed to end, probably. Something was bordering the cool surface of Alucard's reasonable tone, ready to charge into the breach. Despite all her anti-Iscariots sentiments, Seras wasn't quite anticipating it to happen.

"Let me see if I got it correct. Your Master accuses me of... - Maxwell's brows furrowed as a sardonic edge in his voice became razor-sharp, - with the Bloody Countess in her recent atrocities? Integral's out of her mind. The Thirteenth Division's only business with undeads is destroying them. On sight."

"The fact is, none of your staff ever met Elisabeth in person... or survived her welcome to report it. - noted Alucard dryly. - Thus the 'on sight' point is ruled out... But another interesting fact is still on the list. The gap between obtaining the intelligence and that generous warning call is _too damn big_, Maxwell. Almost three weeks... It really looked like a golden opportunity back then, eh? All you had to do was to sit back and watch."

"No shit, Sherlock... - the priest presented the vampire with an acerbic look, - Any proof for this obscurity or it's going to be a 'guilty until proven innocent' case? I ask you one more time - what exactly did your Master send you here for? Except delivering ridiculous speculations, that is."

"My Master? - an odd smile twisted Alucard's lips, - I'm not her ambassador here. It is a private visit. A whim of mine, so to say. Seras kindly joined."

Dubiously, Victoria looked at her senior and met his leer. The No Life King's eyes crinkled at her in brief quizzical mirth. Looking back at the priest, he said: "I've come here to clarify some unfortunate misunderstandings you seem to fancy. First, don't imagine yourself the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to underhand politicking. You lack a few centuries of practice for getting away with it, _mortal_."

"I wouldn't dream of it." - Enrico's face remained unfazed, but Victoria's searching stare didn't miss Enrico's arm tightening in a nervous white-knuckled grip. A faint vertical line of worry on the young vampire's forehead deepened, as her Master got up.

"What did you dream of then? That if Hellsing bloodline perishes, I would be annihilated as well? Or - heh, - put on another twenty years long cold storage? Wrong. The contract between the House of Hellsing and me is not of this kind."

Alucard's voice dropped to a freezing pitch. In one fluid movement he leaned forward, closing his face to the suddenly widened eyes of Iscariots leader.

"To use your modern terminology, I don't carry a self-destruct device in me. So think twice before messing with the control unit, Maxwell. Whatever I'd seek for if my freedom's back - justice, revenge or just fun - in any case it spells blood. And I have a special stake in - and for - the bastards who ever crossed my path. Rome did it more than once."

It was pure snarl now. Alucard's eyes glimmered, ravenous and glassy. Seras strained, watching the fabric of Master's clothes to shift, darkening and turning into... leather? Uh-oh. Whatever it was, it was _not _a good sign. Victoria's stomach lurched, as her senior's hand drifted towards Maxwell's neck. _If you delay it now, next second may be too late. _She clenched her teeth and darted forward, catching Alucard's wrist and pulling it back with all her might. Her endeavor seemed almost fruitless, but Victoria didn't give up even when the other sigilled arm gripped her by the front of the collar and yanked her up.

"What are you doing, Master! Are you going to botch Lady Integra's orders?" - she managed to whisper, looking into the wild slit pupils. For an eternally long moment the merciless stare didn't quiver, but then something slightly changed, subduing. Iron-hard fingers released the grip and Victoria felt the floor under her feet again.

"Integra's orders are all that stand between me and everything you swore to protect, Iscariot. - Alucard's voice sounded icy and calm again. - This is the last warning you'll have."

The No Life King grabbed the shoulder of his fledgling and they vanished in the air. Enrico sat amidst the rumpled bed sheets for awhile, resembling a carelessly unwrapped gift. Finally he regained control over his breathing and muscle functions and celebrated it with croak-voiced mouthing of all the curses he could think of. When he finally started repeating himself, he stormed out of the bed and stuck to pacing the room in circles. A muscle jumped in his jaw at the reminiscence of vampires passing in and out their most trusted holy barrier like so much vapor. O dulcis Virgo Maria! The Investigations Department is going to get their hemorrhoids kicked or his name is not Enrico Maxwell! And where the hell is the Holy Paladin when you need him? Why, that fruitcake is too busy spooking hookers in the streets of London! Argh. The warning. Right. Fine. All of a sudden Enrico stopped and grinned fiercely. Considering the development of FREAKs problem in England, the upcoming war was going to make all the fights of the past five decades look like playpen brawls over a rattle. _Let's see all of them dig their own graves. _Oh, yes. Let's.

* * *

That was strange. Once knowing the pinpoints for getting out of the barrier dome, he could take them anywhere, including their own chambers in Hellsing-Hall. He didn't, choosing some city spot instead. Why? Victoria didn't dare to ask. She remembered the harshness with which Alucard took her to their back route and then released her shoulder as soon as they dipped into the cold pre-dawn mist of a deserted street. A glance upwards proved the estimate. Pissed. Well... Couldn't be helped. After all, she shrank to imagine for how long Vatican and her Master had built up mutual grudges. _Rome__ did it more than once... _Old memories ignited old habits? Oh joy. His self-control had been almost overridden...She glumly fell into studying of her gloves, waiting for whatever they were there for. A noise of a taxi, passing around the corner and stopping there to unload a passenger, didn't shatter her self-detachment. However, Alucard's cold voice instantly did this job.

"Cop. Take a cab and return to Hellsing. If someone asks where we've been - do think before inserting a foot into the mouth. If asked about me, just tell them I'll report back soon. - his long hand rose to stop the returning car. - Go."

"Master... - she began unsurely, - Why..."

"Just because. - his eyes seemed to be in constant surveillance of the quiet neighborhood. Only now Seras realized that it was the very same corner where they had seen Anderson disembarking to his night hunt. - I have a business here and I don't want any meddling with at least this one."

Meddling?! Oh. Victoria opened her mouth to protest but pressed her teeth together instead. If that was the way he was going to judge her intervening... She had done what she had done and wasn't going to advocate it. She was growing tired of all the talks and arguments of this crazy night. If certain someone couldn't see past his own nose at the present moment - let it be so, dammit. Even if it was... unfair. Victoria's shoulders hunched slightly, as she opened the door of the cab and lingered to look at the gates of Iscariots residence for the last time. Alucard glanced at her curiously, but a sound of heavy footfalls came from nearby, immediately snatching his full attention. He looked for the sound source and grinned. A tall figure with hands in the pockets of a long black coat. Familiar pace pattern. Round spectacles and a silver cross on the chest, occasionally reflecting the bleary light of streetlamps. OK, now the time had really run out.

"Besides, - he opined, as if casually continuing his previous remark, - you wouldn't enjoy the company, Seras."

She began to turn, startled with the revival of malicious amusement in her senior's voice, but he quickly ushered the girl into the cab.

"See you soon." - he said and closed the door before she could marshal any further objections. Having accomplished it, Alucard slowly swaggered down the street. For a few moments Victoria just sat there, shuffling theories and fully ignoring the direction requests from the cabbie, when a sudden outburst of loud voices behind made both the driver and the passenger swivel back. The sight in the rear window made the latter utter an 'eep' and then an exasperated sigh. Business, hah. More bloody likely a venting spree.

"Monster! Prepare thyself... for purifying pain!"

"Can you ever mention something less corny, Judas Priest?"

"Keep yapping, Hellsing dog, while you still can! For dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return!"

"Blimey... Should we call cops, Miss?" - the cabbie got nervous and Victoria could understand his feeling. Luckily the thickening fog blocked his poor human vision from seeing particular incriminating details... Oh shit, Anderson's in his bayonet stance already... Ohshitohshitohshit!!!

Victoria's arm clenched on the handle of the Beretta, her only current weapon, pushed under her belt at the last moment of their rushed departure from Hellsing. Bloody hell, if things go real nasty, a mere handgun would be of practically zero effect...

_Get going, Seras! The sport over there's about to hit everything within his reach. _- a rumbling force of Alucard's mental presence stormed into her mind. - _You are nothing but a sitting duck here!_

The worried look of the driver made her utter a desperate sigh. The poor fellow was well within the hit range too... Time to choose - to get out or to get away. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, Victoria. Self-damned. The worst kind.

_Get lost! It's an order!_

Victoria's eyes opened wide and then closed bitterly.

_Yes, sir, my Master. _

__She leaned forward and quickly gave the address of Hellsing headquarters. Her voice and the hum of the engine were not enough to cover the maniacal laughter and screeches of holy blades against the pavement behind the fog screen. It was becoming so thick now that even the vampiric eyesight could catch only occasional red and gray spots, flicking at odd trajectories.

"Eh... Cops, Miss?"

"No need for! It's a tradition of theirs - to greet each other like this. - growled Seras through a manufactured smile. - No big deal. Move it now!"

The driver looked taken aback with her tone and not quite reassured, but the car rolled on.

"One hell of a tradition those chaps have. - began the cabbie a few seconds later, as the taxi was passing a turn. - Must've been pals for quite awhile, eh?"

Seras unwillingly unglued her stare from the rear window to look at him, but a dry shrug was the only reply he got. Instead she said: "Can you please turn the radio on?"

The man looked slightly offended, but pressed the button. Bass rhythms filled the salon right in time to disguise the first gunshot, especially loud in the night city.

_Good luck, Master._

* * *

Author's note: Eh... What can I say? My life was busy to leave me barely enough time to have some sleep. Besides my precious electronic imbecile (Intel inside, mind you) crashed and burned (literally). Boy, does burning plastic stink! The main problem was not the odor, though, but the fact that the almost ready 14th chapter was obliterated. If there's something to make me VERY discouraged it's to do the same job twice... Duh. Anyway, lately I've got more free time on my hands so I've rewritten this chapter and moved onto the next. Hope to finish it soon. 


	15. Chapter 15

Alucard didn't bother to parry - just swerved to avoid a wide flat cut. Anderson turned on his heels and made another swing; his blessed blade sliced the air with a whispering sound, making the disturbed layers of fog swirl and dance. The vampire dodged the sword in another quick pirouette and made a short side step. Some ancient habitual automatics made him throw his hand forward at its full length. The point of the trophy blade reached the right wrist of its former owner and nosferatu's nostrils flared, feeling the smell of fresh blood. An injury of this kind would've made a common swordsfighter lose speed and aim in a matter of minutes. The regenerator growled, but at the next moment he bared his teeth in a grin again and leapt forward in another fierce onslaught. Alucard raised his blade and used that trick old Vesemir had taught him so long ago. "It's not that hard, my prince. Imagine I'm your enemy... What the hell is this stance? Are you going to fight or to dance around the Maypole?!... Yes, this will do. Now pretend you make a simple parry... Right, my boy, and now use the momentum and hook my sword with yours and force downward... Now turn your wrist like this and swing! See?" Alucard saw. He stepped back and watched a diagonal hole across priest's garbs, with ripped flesh gleaming in its depth... A hole in the defense lines...

...A breach. Turks were all over the place, swarming like insects. The valley was flooded with turbulent waters of two armies, pressing against each other. The vanguard of his troops was crumpling, broken into small knots of resistance... Suddenly he found himself amidst a yelling avalanche of Ottoman cavalry. Having dispatched some of the most enthusiastic opponents with scythe-like movements of his long blade, he tried to wheel his mount and shoulder a way towards the nearest cross-laden banner. Not much success. He was in constant motion, cutting, thrusting and parrying, but the banner of his troops wasn't closer... It seemed even farther. Something big came rushing to him from behind and he twisted in the saddle, preparing to strike cross-body, but instantly reconsidered.

"Just about time, old man!" - he shouted instead, beheading another enemy. Vesemir plunged forward in a flanking assault. His sword turned into a shimmering filigree of death, cleaning the space around them.

"Join the main forces, my prince! Hurry and stop them!"

"They retreat?"

"They fucking stampede! Ever since somebody yelled about you being killed - it's like a fire in a whorehouse back there! - spat the old knight, - Hurry! I'll follow!"

Vesemir leaned forward to strike, succeeded, but suddenly swayed in the saddle and heavily fell on the ground with a dagger in his neck...

...Iscariot's left hand jerked forward, sending a whole flock of daggers into the air. Alucard snapped out of his flashback, whirled his blade to block them and made a somersault back to avoid the next batch of blessed steel whistling in the air already. Having landed softly on a roof edge of a two storey building right above their duel grounds, he shook his head and looked at his own hand, still clenching Anderson's blessed blade. What had gotten into him? When this thing had been flying past him, he had snatched it and put it in use suddenly and without any thinking. Damn. The memories he had buried so deep - they kept coming tonight, bright and vivid. He tilted his head, listening. The sound of the car engine was subsiding in the distance, finally hauling his fledgling away to safety. Alucard crookedly grinned and cut the link, eradicating the tiny beacon of policewoman's consciousness in his mind. His grin transmuted into a brief irritated grimace, as he pulled a stray dagger out of his shoulder, weighed it on his left palm and flung it aside. There came a soft _clank_ and the blade stuck three inches deep in the head of a stone cupid, decorating the corner of the roof. Blind eyes of the lobotomized statue gazed at the world with mute reproach. The vampire snorted and touched his stinging shoulder. Yes. The priest was fast... Magnificently fast. Actually, under other circumstances he would have applauded Anderson's performance. The speed of Holy Paladin's reactions was definitely unhuman, along with many other features. Still, their mad dance in the deserted street made him expose one doubtlessly human feature... Alucard listened keenly and was rewarded with a sound of heavy panting from the milky sea of fog. Heh. The nosferatu made the pupils of his eyes widen to the max to see through the wall of vapor and caught a heart-warming sight of the Iscariot, standing in the middle of the street, breathing heavily and looking around with frustrated air.

"Have you fled already, monster? - bellowed Anderson suddenly, - You coward! Come out and fight!"

The vampire kept silence, looking at his counterpart from mist and shadows, a sarcastic smirk slowly creeping on his face.

"Don't have your lousy guns with you tonight? Scared to fight with a proper weapon, you dog breath? Hah! Guns for a show, knives - for a pro!"

"Bah. I swear there's a village idiot missing somewhere..." - murmured Alucard. He bent his knees and softly jumped down from the roof.

"Pssst, dodo. - having landed a few yards away from his adversary, Alucard waved him with a blade. - Over here."

Anderson barked a gleeful bit of laughter and leapt forward, brandishing his blades. In the mid-jump he was stopped short with a round from the Jackal. The force of the impact made his body fold and hit the pavement.

Alucard lingered with a smoking gun in his hand and watched his enemy to muster himself from the ground.

"Nothing very flashy, but guns do the job."

* * *

Lights were turning on in the residential buildings all along the street. It was quite an unusual time for inhabitants of this respectable neighborhood to get out of their warm beds, but they were full awake. And very, very unnerved, to say the least. Gunfire in the street was bad enough, but fairly understandable. Shit happens, especially in a big city. But the other sounds, coming from outside... Something extremely strange was going on out there.

"...I'll punish thee with everlasting destruction! Thou will perish, for nothing can stop these blades, filled with shining greatness of the Blessing!"

"So, sooner or later the truth always shows up. You think that knives are a good idea just because they are big and fucking shiny, eh?"

Furious roar. Laughter. Clanks. Two gunshots. Police got five more sputtering phone calls from the showdown vicinity.

"You couldn't hit a house if you were shooting at it from the inside, bloodsucker! Hee-hee-hee!"

Somewhere under the damp blanket of fog a brow of the best operative of Hellsing organisation since 1898 twitched at this statement. Anderson and himself were circling around each other, keeping the distance between them at perhaps six or seven yards. The priest was cackling, but his eyes darted, calculating and wary, looking for an opening. Suddenly the green eyes narrowed. Oh well. Sometimes Anderson's facial expressions were even more transparent than policewoman's, and that was really something. The Iscariot leaped forward and lunged, his bayonet-like blade pointed right at the vampire's throat. However, at the same moment Alucard fired a round and the chest of the priest bloomed into a nightmarish rose. The priest swayed and almost fell, then regained his balance and slowly slumped into a kneeling position. Propping himself with one hand, he coughed blood and looked up at the vampire.

"That was brave. - observed the nosferatu, tilting his head and meeting Anderson's stare. - But, unfortunately, much more idiotic than absolutely necessary."

The crimson-stained lips of the Holy Paladin twisted in a crooked smirk.

Loud shuffling emerged from under his battered coat. Alucard recognized this noise at once, cursed and sprang back. A stream of pages with spell seals rushed out into the air. Spinning wildly, they formed something like ribbons, which darted forward at blinding speed. The vampire shot a round at the paper, but the next moment it wrapped around his arm and yanked it upward. Anderson laughed mockingly.

Alucard gritted his teeth. The second ribbon was closing rapidly, threatening to immobilize him. He slashed at it with the blade, still clenched in his palm. The measure seemed to be effective, so he freed his other hand from flimsies' grip. He blocked the advance of the spelled paper with a windmill of blessed steel, at the same moment being peripherally aware of movement at the background, evidence that the priest had regenerated his wound to the point of standing up. Anderson's movements were still stiff and awkward, but he picked his holy bayonets from the pavement and turned to Alucard. The vampire tried to shift his feet into a more comfortable stance, but something held them. He was ankle-deep in swarming bits and pieces of cut spell seals, nailing him to the spot and creeping up his feet.

"Exsurgat Deus et dissipentur inimici eius..."

Alucard cast a glance at the Jackal. All six rounds spent, the slide locked back on an empty clip.

"... et fugiant qui oderunt eum a facie eius."

The spell assault kept going, not leaving him a moment to reload the gun. The priest was striding forward, holding his blades clasped as a crucifix in front of his chest. The hideous wound on it shrunk to a small patch of skinless flesh.

"Sicut deficit fumus deficiant sicut fluit cera a facie ignis..."

Alucard thumbed the clip-release button on the Jackal, never stopping the constant screening motion with the blade. Step One. The dry magazine clattered on the pavement. Anderson was about fifteen yards away, serious and absorbed. Alucard's mind reached out, bending the laws of physics and bringing them to submission to his will. Step Two. A coat flap on his chest started twitching, as if a small bird got caught under the fabric.

"...Sic pereant peccatores a facie Dei!" - thundered the Holy Paladin and the razor-sharp crucifix fell apart, turning into two blades. Anderson swung them with his full force. In a second he would cleanse the face of Earth of this abomination... Right here. Right now...

"Amen!!!"

A full ammo clip finally found its way out of Alucard's inner pocket, leaped up and dove into the supply chamber of the black handgun. Step Three. He used his teeth to complete the final touch in the Jackal's reloading. The business end of the black handgun faced approaching Anderson. The priest roared and flung one of his blades.

Feeling a fiery thump in his side, Alucard pulled the trigger.

* * *

Bang! The explosive bullet knocked the Iscariot backward as though from a hard punch. Split-second later Alucard readjusted the shooting angle after recoil and fired again. The second slug caught the Holy Paladin under the chin and exploded the back of his head. A pink billow hovered over Anderson as a halo, not hurrying to get mixed with the fog. _I wish Monet could have seen it... _- came a sudden crazy thought, - _Effet__ de brouillard, huh... You could've painted this right, Claude.._

Shit. What's this, a night of recollections? He shouldn't have been exposed to the power of that damned plague pit so closely and so long. Sometimes its power seemed to play strange tricks with his mind... Alucard concentrated on the current state of affairs and leveled his weapon at the priest, but his adversary didn't ever twitch or move since he had slumped backward and down. Time was reluctantly slowing down to normal. Whatever force was holding the spell papers in the air seemed to disappear and they spiraled down, dancing their last waltz with gravity. They covered the still body on the pavement, two or three fell into the dark widening pool under Anderson's head. Their color immediately turned maple-red.

"Autumn has come..." - murmured Alucard lyrically and turned round at the sounds of rapid footfalls.

Maxwell was running to him, with an elderly man a few yards behind. What was his name? Ah yes, Buffonard. Having noticed the Hellsing trash-cleaner, this Walter's counterpart in many ways of the Iscariots organization slowed down and reached for something in his pajamas pocket. This peculiar 'something' was pulling his pajamas jacket down with two healthy pounds of steel.

Maxwell ran a few more yards and switched his gears into slower pace too. He furiously drilled the vampire with his eyes and craned his neck to get a better look at the scene. The sight of Anderson's body made him twist his lips in a painful grimace.

"What has happened here?" – croaked he.

"And what does it looks like to you? - the vampire raised his brows. - First Communion celebration?"

Iscariots' chief rewarded Alucard with a cremating glare and made a step forward. Buffonard's hand locked on his elbow.

"Please, calm down, Your Grace. We don't have time to start arguments, do we?"

Enrico closed his eyes, obviously swallowing some words itching the tip of his tongue. Finally he looked at the nosferatu again.

"Will you allow us to come closer and check Brother Alexander's state?" - he said. It looked like the words were being pulled out of his mouth with dental pliers.

Alucard smiled serenely and nodded.

"Be my guest."

Stepping aside from their way, he switched his attention to the blade in his side at last. Wow, it stuck deep. No wonder, Anderson had thrown it from the minimal distance... He got a better grip on the handle, all slippery with blood, and pulled. Holy crap! The thing got wedged into bone and wouldn't come out. Rocking it from side to side and preparing himself to the unpleasant side-effects of pulling a piece of blessed metal out of his rib, Alucard turned to watch the activities of the Iscariots. The priests were trying to turn their companion, a little at time, as subtly and carefully as they could. When they finally succeeded, the weak light of the remote streetlamp fell on the aftermath of the recent clash.

"Sancta Maria!" - whispered Buffonard. Enrico just drew a sharp intake of breath through his teeth. Curious, Alucard finally wrenched the blade free and moved closer. He surveyed the damage and whistled.

"His mighty cranium looks like the North Pole would have... after a collision with an asteroid. Pretty apocalyptic picture, eh?"

"Has your Master whacked you over the head with a pan too many times or your sense of humor is just genetically so sharp?" - hissed Maxwell poisonously, swiveling to the vampire. The unholy creature only presented him with a nasty grin.

"Now, now. No need to throw a tantrum and push your luck once again, Maxwell."

Alucard walked closer and stopped over the prostrate form of the Holy Paladin. His vigilant gaze didn't miss the faint but steady movement of the priest's chest. Miraculously, the man was still alive. Maxwell and Buffonard motioned forward, as if trying to shield their helpless colleague from the advancing nosferatu, but Alucard shouldered them aside and stooped to his former opponent.

"Well... Shall we call it a day, Judas Priest? You are obviously in no shape to continue. I can kill you right now... And you can't even raise your finger to flip me a farewell bird."

Generally, Alucard didn't expect a response. However, the eyeballs of the priest rolled slightly under the closed eyelids. Was he conscious already? Thrilled, the vampire furrowed his brow and repeated:

"Do you hear that, Anderson? You've lost again. It's inevitable. Good bye, Anderson."

All of a sudden the eyes of the Iscariots' best operative snapped open. He slowly sat up, supported by caring hands of his commanders, and planted a glassy unfocused gaze into Alucard's face.

"My name is... Neo." - he said. The next moment he almost fell face down, because the priests got distracted with an exchange of shocked stares and forgot to hold him upright.

"Eh. - remarked Alucard, looking at the throbbing crater on the top of Anderson's head, - Uh." For a moment he wondered if policewoman's eloquence - or rather lack of it - was contagious. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but continue in the same elaborate style.

"Whoops." - he observed.

* * *

Author's note: OK, here we go. No Seras in this chapter, sorry. I entertained myself with Weird Al vs. Weird Al fight sequence for a change. Guess, I'll write a few comments for some parts of the text. Most likely you know these things but I prefer to clear up possible misunderstandings. Here we go:

1. Dracula (a.k.a. Alucard backwards) was a prince of Valachia (Transylvania was a province of Valachia) and fought in many battles with Turks, who tried to gain control over his country and add its territory to their growing Ottoman empire. He lost his parents and elder brother rather early and was raised and taught into knighthood by an old noble. I don't know his name, so I just chose this name 'Vesemir' and got over it.

2. I've taken the date 1898 as a possible start point of Alucard's career in Hellsing from Dracula the movie. I don't remember if Hirano-sensei ever mentioned the exact date in the manga, but I believe there was some matching line with 'about a century ago' in it. Don't remember and too lazy to check.

3. Le Parlement, Effet de Brouillard a.k.a. Parliament, Effect of Fog is one of the most famous pictures by Claude Monet, French Impressionist. It was painted in 1904. I consider it as the most brilliant image of foggy weather in the history of Arts. I like fog, I like this picture, I like this artist, so I kind of bestowed this fondness upon one of my favorite characters. I don't know if it can be considered an acute fit of Mary Sue' ism or whatever this hideous disease is called. ;

4. 'Two healthy pounds of steel' would be a gun of a normal size (not Alucard's pocket artillery).


	16. Chapter 16

Two Iscariots propped Anderson into a half-sitting position again. He stared around, eyes still glassy. Blood had trickled down from under his hair, making his face look like a macabre red lañquer mask.

"Is it Zion?" - he murmured.

"It's England, Brother. - Buffonard's voice was soothing and sweet as a Sunday morning yawn. - Sisters Heinkel and Yumiko were dispatched to Israel instead of you. Do you remember?"

Saying so, the old man released Anderson's shoulder and rose to make a sneak check of the Holy Paladin's cranial department. Maxwell, whose supporting task became twice more difficult, blessed his aide with a dirty look. Buffonard didn't seem to care. He was watching the edges of the giant wound to twitch and slowly crawl to the center. Too slow. Too chaotic. He had never witnessed a regenerator damaged so badly. The bloodsucking bastard had used explosive bullets... He glanced at the vampire, who leaned against a wall in a relaxed pose and watched the scene with vivid curiosity. His fangs glistened in a lazy smile.

"A weapon is a tool for making your enemy change his mind, some humans say. Looks like this point has just been proved."

The deep voice of the vampire made Anderson jerk his head towards the sound. His gaze became more sober and he even swayed forward in an attempt to stand up. A futile attempt. Maxwell hardly managed to prevent another meeting of the long-suffering head of his subordinate with the damp stone of the pavement. Mixing sotto voce obscenities with appeals to various saints, he placed the still bleeding head on his lap. Settling this, he wiped blood off his right palm.

"How many fingers do you see?" - inquired the Iscariots leader with businesslike air, holding his index finger in front of his subordinate's nose.

The injured priest blinked sheepishly: "Th... Three?"

Enrico sighed. Having picked Anderson's glasses, he observed the twisted and lensless frame for awhile and tossed it away. Then he stared at the slowly regenerating wound amidst yellowish-blond hair and scratched the same place on his own head.

"Three... Three... - meanwhile mumbled Anderson. - Three... Trinity! Where's Trinity?!"

"In the Heaven, of course. Where all they belong." - muttered Enrico absentmindedly, brooding over an uneasy problem of transporting the log-like body of the Holy Paladin back to the headquarters a block away. The next second he was seized by a strand of hair and pulled down. He saw Anderson's eyes from the distance of a couple of inches and suppressed an indignant yowl. These bulging green eyes were absolutely insane.

"How did it happen?!" - a furious roar shook the neighborhood.

"Eh?" - was all Maxwell could manage, combining his forces with Buffonard in unclenching Anderson's fingers.

"What happened to her?! When?! Oh no... Agents?! Tell me the truth!"

"Her? When? Agents?! - after a few moments of dumbfound filtering Enrico finally snapped. - What the hell is he talking about?!"

"Apparently, he's talking about Agents. Who supposedly killed Trinity." - helpfully interfered Alucard, grinning.

"Who are you? - Anderson's attention switched, allowing Maxwell free himself from the grip and carefully crawl aside. - What do you know about this?"

A nasty gleam flashed in the eyes of the nosferatu. He pushed himself off the wall and strode to the group of Iscariots.

"So, you want to know the truth, Mr. Anderson? - his tone became silky as he bent to his confused rival. - I'll tell it to you... Although you wouldn't believe it."

A police car, winding around the corner, cancelled Alucard's revelations. The siren was silent, but the lights strobed the vicinity with splashes of red and blue. Blinded with their brightness, Anderson softly groaned, slumped back on the ground and closed his eyes with a painful expression on his face. Headlights snatched the group from the darkness, meticulously demonstrating all the peculiar details. A body of a man with a broken head, a gruesome crimson puddle on the pavement and a man, stooping to the victim. Two gloomy ruffled figures in stained bathrobes and pajamas beside, hands and feet covered with blood. Torn paper and lots of strangely looking knives scattered here and there.

"Oh, shit... - muttered Maxwell miserably. - We're too late... A fresh problem. I don't feel like getting into what has happened here. And when they look at Brother Alexander closer..."

* * *

"Oh, shit... - muttered Andrew, turning to his partner in the driver seat. - We're too late... A fresh corpse. I don't feel like looking at the poor chap over there. Look at all that blood! He's probably..."

"...butchered. Shit happens. - concluded Paul melancholically. - The night's just getting better and better." His fifteen year long experience in London Met made his stomach successfully resistant to all kinds of startling sights. And smells. And fast food snacks... He glanced at the nervously gulping rookie and shrugged. Ten days in police, hah. Usually it took some practice to develop the helpful kind of jaded indifference at crime scenes, so... _Either lose your cherry and get used to this mess or get the hell out of the force and start looking for another job, kid._

"Out." - he said plainly. The kid made a face and started to climb out of the car, clumsily unfolding his six-foot-six. Paul sighed and followed, spitting away a cigarette end and dreaming of a vacation far, far, far away from this place. Hot beach, cold drinks, hot women... And not even one cold corpse, dumb witness or bumbling rookie in the vicinity. Not a single friggin' one. Jee-zus... Paradise, indeed.

"Well, gentlemen, can you tell what has happened here?" - Andrew began, standing by car and looking at the group around the body. _Hah. Making the witnesses walk up to you and leaving the primary examination to me? Smartass._

The two in bed time outfit looked at the constables with notable reluctance and didn't hurry to walk up to them or even speak. So much for witness cooperation. The man by the body rose and turned to the patrol. Paul softly whistled. Ye gods. The fellow was really tall, much taller than his lanky new partner... And looked odd. Sunglasses in the dark foggy street at 3 a.m.?! And his clothes... Indeed. London's ass deep of weirdos. Well, at least, he wasn't in drag, he wasn't in hysterics or shock and he was the only one without blood or gore on him. Even the white gloves. The man made a step forward and smiled. There was something odd in this smile too... Something wrong... Strange... The policeman hadn't enough time to catch the tail of this sudden thought and realize the reason of the strangeness. When he passed by the still silent witnesses and bemusedly squatted by the body, eyes of the motionless corpse opened and looked at him. Shocked, Paul uttered a short hiccuping sound, flinched back and fell on his butt. Having felt dampness of the blood puddle under his buttocks, he chokingly grunted and strained to rise, but the dead man did it faster. Eh... Surprise, surprise. The ex-dead man. The former corpse stood straight, having performed his spectacular resurrection in an instant. His right hand held Paul by his neck. "Agent... - hissed the regenerator. - Do you think this dumb disguise could fool me even for a second?" The policeman felt the cold fingers to stretch his skin, go deeper, shift aside muscles on their way down... Now an artery was throbbing right under this merciless iron grip. Paul's fingers clawed the gloved wrist to keep it from further squeezing. He fought like a fish on a hook, but it was useless. Everything was getting pitch dark. Air started to ring, muffling all the other noises.

Andrew looked at the people in front of him, wondering if their silence was a result of shock. Had they seen something so hideous that it trapped their vocal boxes? He hesitated and walked up to them, making his best not to look at his partner stooping over the corpse. It was harder than it sounded. The body sort of stole the spotlight. He couldn't help it. But still... He was never afraid of blood, but a sight of a human face framed with split bones and bloody pulp... It was too... unnatural. That's the word. He felt his stomach to wrap uncomfortably around the two hours old remnants of a heavily ketchuped hot dog. _If Christine tried to talk me into vegetarianism now, she might get a chance._ All of a sudden a young man with an untidy ponytail looked over Andrew's shoulder and swore. Feeling like falling for the oldest trick on the Earth but still not able to resist, Andrew started to turn. At this moment a furious roar swept over the place, triggering an instant wave of activity. The ponytailed guy swore again and dashed forward. The old man beside caught his arm and jerked him back, standing between him and whatever was going on behind Andrew's back.

"He might go berserk any moment, Your Grace. - He flung a gun from his pajamas' pocket with a very quick, experienced and obviously automatic gesture. - And he doesn't seem to recognize us now."

The tall dude in a red trench coat... Andrew's heart flinched. He didn't see him run. He didn't see him move. It was like a missed frame of a film... Just a backwash of night air and slow dance of disturbed fog hinted at what'd just happened. The young policeman swirled back and stared.

The man he'd assumed dead stood straight, his face was distorted with rage. Paul's body was hanging in his grip, feet dangling in a foot from the ground. Andrew felt creeps crawling up his skin. Paul was of medium height, but built like a brick outhouse. Even if some muscle melted into general bulk via too many hours in his favorite pub or in front of TV he could crush a hand in a handshake if he wanted to. His weight should hit the scale over 200 pounds mark, for Pete's sake. The ex-corpse held the weakly wiggling body of the policeman in an outstretched hand as effortlessly as anyone else would hold a bunch of daisies. The man in the red trench coat was in front of him.

"You are harming this human, Anderson. - his voice was calm and casual. - Let him go."

The man in front of him shook his head. Only now Andrew noticed that he was dressed like a priest. A Catholic priest. _Jesus H. Christ, what the hell is going on?_

"He's an Agent. He's evil. He must die."

"Looks like you're returning to your normal self. At least, the attitude is achingly familiar. - the taller man chuckled. - Fine. Pray, believe me at the point that the only Agent here is me. Happy?"

Whatever the idea was, it worked not quite the way it'd been planned. The yellow-haired man only frowned and stepped back, still holding Paul's body in front of himself like a shield. His left hand slid under his clothes and reappeared with a big, nasty-looking blade. Paul froze, still and speechless, fascinated with the unfolding horror as a bird, fascinated with a snake's gaze. It looked like a bad hostage situation and he had neither enough experience to make a bargain nor a weapon to make a threat. Met police wasn't allowed to carry guns routinely. Traditions, damn them.

"If you're an Agent, and he isn't, then why are you protecting this man?"

"Because that's what I'm always ordered to do. - the tone was strangely sarcastic, with a tinge of bitterness. - A century worth of repeats." Andrew's eyes flicked at him and it was one of those moments when time seems both to stretch painfully slow and fly too fast. A blur of speed and motion hit the priest hard enough to throw him a few yards back. Paul's limp body slid to the ground, resting there in an unconscious heap. The priest rolled over and got up. He was staggering and he'd lost his blade, but it didn't stop him.

"I know kung fu!" - he stated, balled his fists and took a fighting stance, glaring at his attacker. The latter took his shades off and looked back.

"Whoa." - he drawled_._

He dove under the first swing and grabbed the priest's jacket with one arm. The next moment the priest was flying high above the ground, his black clothes making him looking like a monstrous crow. Having made a near perfect arc in the air, he fell on his back. For a second he lay still, gasping for air, then started to rise. The man in the red trench coat glided to him, stooped and lightly touched the blood-covered forehead of the lying man with his hand. Their eyes met and the priest twitched. Then he visibly relaxed and closed his eyes. Deja vu. A time loop of the scene, this man looked dead again. His tamer rose and brought his arm close to his eyes. Blood stained his glove up to an unclear pattern on the back of his palm. His tongue flicked, licking away the blood. He put his head on one side and lingered as if getting a first taste of a rare wine. Then he smiled.

"Bizarre. But yummy."

"Stay away from him, you fucking monster!!!" - the ponytailed young man made a step forward, the elder man moved to be between him and the red-clad man, his gun in a firm two-handed grip. A bodyguard or something in that ballpark... Great. Andrew inched back towards the car. Distance, distance. Calling reinforcements while this creepy company was distracted and busy quarreling looked like the goal. Getting away would be a hell better solution, but... Paul was still out there, helpless and maybe injured. Andrew just couldn't leave him like that.

"Easy, Maxwell, I won't munch him away. Just a bit of curiosity." - the tall man licked his lips and his smile widened. He laughed and Andrew looked at him and felt a chill, running down his spine. The laughter was arrogant and cold and somewhat crazy but that wasn't the point. The point was an almost palpable wave of power, lashing out of the man with his laughter. The power was waking the most ancient instincts, the ones, buried under the gloss of civilization, the ones that screamed of a predator closing. The fear that was raw and pure, drove Andrew's muscles into knots and he broke.

Andrew dove into the car, slammed the door behind him and quickly locked it with a shaking hand. That's too much... What's the hell... He should have listened to Mom and settled on some other career instead... Shit. He gulped and reached for the crackling and squeaking radio. Something softly tapped at the window and he swirled in the seat looking for the source of the sound. A pale face was inches from the window, knuckles of a gloved hand delicately knocked at the glass again. Not distracted enough, apparently. Andrew bared his teeth and gripped the key with the other hand. The car's engine roared into life. At this moment the hand in white glove returned, smashing the window in pieces. The young cop uttered a squeezed whimpering and instinctively drew back, closing his eyes to protect them from a stream of tiny glass cubes. When he opened them, he looked right into the eyes of the stranger. He couldn't take his stare away. His hand froze on the radio, feeling coolness of plastic, a tiny scratch on its surface, pliant softness of buttons, feeling it in all and every detail, but unable to move even a fraction. The eyes of the stranger held him. Under the reflected glint of the dashboard there was their own red glow, as if coming from inside of his head. Then something changed. There was a long black tunnel and Andrew was falling into it, reaching toward the end of it. Once reached, it would wash away all the worries, all the sorrows, all the uncertainty... _There was nobody in the street when you two came. No traces. Tell them._ Andrew just craved to obey. The ultimate pleasure of following the order dawned at him. Wide-eyed, shining with an ecstatic smile on half-parted lips, he started to talk into the microphone.

* * *

"What... have you just done?" - asked Maxwell. His voice was low and coarse.

"Mind control. - Alucard turned to look at Enrico. The priest quickly slid his glance down to avoid the vampire's gaze. It didn't pass unnoticed and Alucard chuckled softly. - Quite a parlor trick."

"With the constable - yes. - Enrico's jaw tightened. - But it can't be possible with Brother Anderson. But nevertheless, you managed. You... abused his mind. I swear, some day you'll pay for that."

Vampire's brow rose. He looked amused.

"Abuse suits seem to be oh-so-popular among you, Catholics, these days. - his grin widened and got nastier. - Well, hallelujah. Common questions, are they leather? Do they have straps? Do they come in big sizes?"

If looks could have killed, Maxwell's one richly deserved the title of WMD. He opened his mouth to say something, but Buffonard stepped forward, laying his hand on the shoulder of his boss in a mute warning.

"How long will Brother Anderson be in this state? - he asked in a calm businesslike tone. - He's catatonic now. Is the damage... permanent?"

Maxwell flinched and looked at the prostrate body of his best operative. The vampire looked at Anderson too, then shrugged.

"The effect will wear up in a few hours."

"Can we take him back to his room before anyone else show up?"

"Yes."

Buffonard looked at Alucard's face, as if searching for something. The face of the nosferatu was blank and unreadable. The old man shook his head and asked softly:

"Why are you doing this?"

The vampire gave him a bright smile with fangs peeking out and said: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth."

Both Iscariots stared at him, not even trying to keep incredulity off their faces.

Finally Maxwell stepped forward, ignoring his aide's fingers digging deep into his shoulder.

"I wouldn't trust you quoting 'love thine enemy' even if you were sitting on a stack of Bibles and kissing a crucifix."

Alucard laughed.

"So true, Maxwell, so true. Maybe I just don't want to kill him when he's like this."

"Honor involved? - usual arrogance found its way into Maxwell's tone. - You have many names, abomination, but Sir Lancelot isn't one of them."

"You are very close to using up all my good will, Maxwell. Honor or plain lack of fun, any reason to keep your psychotic crusader alive should be just fine for you." - he turned and walked to the older policeman, who started to make small noises and turned on his side, staring at the tall figure above him. The vampire bent to him and repeated the drill, brushing the forehead of the cop with his fingertips and looking into his eyes. The policeman immediately got on his hands and knees and crawled to the car. The happy smile on his face was a twin of his younger colleague's facial expression. Hovering silence was suddenly broken with soft purring of a cell phone. Alucard frowned and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Alucard." - Integra's voice was crisp and sharp, tension barely contained under the cool tone.

"My Master."

"What the hell have you been doing in the city all night?"

"Nothing special. Had a walk, met Iscariots, had a little... discussion."

Integra drew a deep breath. "Are they alive?"

"Sure, but Anderson might need some rest and repair. - Alucard chuckled. – He's been trying too hard to impress me."

"Cut the macho crap, Alucard, we do not have time for that. Come back immediately."

"What's happened?"

"Shit hit the fan again."

She hang up. The tall figure of the vampire shrugged and silently vanished in the air.

"Got his chain yanked at last. - muttered Enrico through clenched teeth. - So, let me test my understanding. He hasn't killed Brother Anderson now just because it was 'plain lack of fun'? Sick bastard."

"I've got this impression too, Your Grace. A vampire's idea of fun can get more than a little odd."

"After we take Brother Anderson into the house, someone should come here and fetch all the blessed blades."

"I'll see to that, Your Grace."

The two men got a hold of the still body and strained to lift it from the pavement.

"He's damn heavy."

"Oh yes, Your Grace. You're absolutely correct."


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

When familiar black and white floor tiles of Hellsing manor finally appeared under his feet, Alucard stayed in shadows, invisible and undetectable, taking his time to adjust his perception to the Euclidean geometry of the world. Whatever the underside of space and time consisted of, it was really disturbed tonight. His habitual instant travel through it turned out almost intoxicating... And not that instant. Alucard frowned and moved out into the vast hall of Hellsing manor to join a small group walking towards the door. The group consisted of Integra Hellsing, Walter and Pip Bernadotte, who was busy pushing a huge chrome-plated .44 under the front waistband of his jeans. When the vampire stepped out of nowhere next to him, he jumped. 

"Jesus, man. Can't you quit sneaking up like that? If not for safety on, I could've shot something significant off."

"Wouldn't that have been a great relief for the gene pool." - retorted Alucard automatically, looking around and ignoring indignant "Say whaaat?!" from the mercenary. Despite the wee hour of the night the place was full of commotion. Voices, footfalls and distant hum of armored vehicles' engines clearly pointed at the fact that the short recession was over.

"Stop the bickering, you two. - snapped Integra, glaring back at the vampire. - You know, Alucard, you may be about six centuries old and seven feet tall, but sometimes I wonder if you'll ever grow up."

Alucard made a small bow and grinned.

"If my Master says so. - in two gliding paces he caught up with Integra and walked beside her to the waiting car. - Well, what's the hurry? FREAKs are up to it again?"

"Don't know yet. Police called. They said it's been a free-fire zone in Stamford street."

"And what does it have to do with us?"

"They've found remains on the scene. That kind of remains has a lot to do with us."

Alucard's face became solemn. "Ashes, you mean?"

"Exactly. - Integra sighed. She looked tired. - Besides, vampiric attacks have started again. We've got two locations already, one's not far from the place we're going to. Fergusson will take troops to the other."

"Hm. So, everybody's booked up for the night."

"Not everybody yet. Where's Seras?"

"Coming here..." - Alucard paused and suddenly stopped cold in his tracks. Pip bumped into him and grumbled something unflattering, but eventually shut up. He followed the stares of the other two humans and made a step back, putting his hand on the handle of his gun and trying to make this gesture inobtrusive. There was a whole mix of emotions chasing through the vampire's face, but two of them dominated. He was genuinely pissed, it showed in every line of his face, the tension of his shoulders, the deep red gleam of his eyes and the sudden shock wave of energy, making the air thick and electrified and hard to breath as it happens before a thunderstorm. The second emotion was... something like great distress. Pip blinked, wondering if the moon'd become blue all of a sudden. He'd dealt with the nosferatu enough to learn his expressions pretty well, namely blank face, arrogance, sarcasm, rage and boredom. Pure ones or mixed, they were all Mr. Fangface usually needed to express his current attitude. Absolutely no room for anguish... Or so he'd thought. It was an aberration of the ready image and Pip felt pretty uncomfortable about it. When something or somebody really dangerous was becoming less predictable, he always felt this way.

Integra cleared her throat and inquired: "What's wrong, Alucard?"

He slowly turned the full weight of his gaze at her. She didn't flinch.

"Everything's wrong." - he finally said and closed his eyes. He looked like straining to hear something. Integra fished a pack of cigars out of her pocket and tapped one out. It was an expert movement of a longtime chain smoker and an attempt to make herself patient.

"Unpack it, Alucard. You may sound bloody dramatic, but it doesn't make any sense for the rest of us."

"I could tell you a pretty story, but in the end, the answer is simply it doesn't make sense for me either. - Alucard opened his eyes, paused and added. - Seras doesn't respond."

"What do you mean 'doesn't respond'? You haven't called her."

Alucard looked at his Master.

"You were too young when your father died, Integra. He hadn't taught you much and you've never bothered to continue the studies he'd led. - he glanced at frowning Walter. - Walter understands what I mean."

"I believe I do. - Walter stepped from behind the car and faced his commander. - Miss Victoria is Alucard's creation, Lady Integra. There's a bond between them. Something like telepathy, am I right? It's unbreakable unless she drinks his blood."

"Or dies. It's a possible option too."

Integra's hand with a cigar in it froze in a mid-motion: "You think she's dead?"

"I always felt such things before, but now... I don't know. The bond has gone numb. Not severed, but nevertheless... - he turned away from the car. - I must go."

"Do you know where to look for her?"

His posture became stiff as if every muscle of his body had gone tight. Finally he said: "No."

"Get into the car then. We may find a trail of breadcrumbs or... - Integra recalled the ashy remains discovered by the police and finished softly. - ... or something."

* * *

Walter drove. Pip had taken the front seat and now fidgeted, tying his hair into a loose braid and periodically shifting his glance at Integra and Alucard, who rode in the backseat. Everybody was silent and it was an uneasy silence. Tension hovered, building in the car's confinement up to the point when Integra started to harbor a wistful thought about a continuation of the never ending Alucard vs. Pip pleasantries exchange. Hell, even a nice uncomplicated yelling match sounded most appealing. Anything but silence... She caught Walter's look in the rear view mirror and found worry in it. She was worried about the fate of her youngest subordinate too. She hated to lose her people. Uncertainty and lack of information... Things that could be maddening even in much lighter case. She looked at the second reason of her worries and frowned. The vampire's profile was set in such harsh a line as she had ever seen it, his back very straight instead of his customary casual reclining, fingers interlaced in a tense lock in his lap. He shimmered with energy, contained, imprisoned, restricted, but all the same. Violence rode the air. He looked as if he was a blink away from exploding or starting to rip everything apart. Uncertainty was definitely getting on his nerves too. Integra remembered Walter's glance and wondered what Alucard was like right before that fatal incident 30 years ago, when he had suddenly gone rogue, caused a bloody carnage in Hellsing Hall corridors and had to be locked away under a powerful confining spell for it. Walter had participated in Alucard's imprisoning, seen everything and maybe, just maybe there was another reason for anxiety in his eyes but the news about Seras disappearance. More the pity she couldn't ask about it right now, in Alucard's presence. She cringed, feeling a tight painful knot growing in her empty stomach. Damn, ulcer was an almost certain perspective with a lifestyle like hers... Chaotic throbs of red and blue lights hit her vision, making her cover the eyes with an arm. When she lowered the hand, the car was stopping, obeying the gesture of an uniformed policeman.

"Wow. - observed Pip from his front seat. - It must be a big one."

The street was completely blocked. Police cars, ambulances and even a fire truck were parked without any obvious order and created an impenetrable barricade. If not for the time of the night, it would've completely paralyzed traffic in this part of London... The area was crawling with police, uniformed and plainclothed. Their figures were unclear and eerie grayish in all that fog and chaotic lighting, making the place look like one of Dante's limbos. The constable who stopped their car bent to the driver's window. His face was stern.

"Sorry, but this street is temporary closed for traffic."

Integra reached forward and flashed her badge.

"Hellsing Institution. We're expected here."

They got out of the car and hung their badges around their necks to prevent further questions. Pip turned back and motioned the armored vehicle with Hellsing troopers to take a detour to get to their destination. He didn't join them and Integra didn't insist. Technically, he was off his shift and not very sober, besides Sergeant Williams was experienced enough to take care about this operation all by himself. And... She might need somebody else but Walter in case Alucard... She ushered this thought out of her mind and walked towards the scene, fighting a sudden desire to turn on her heels and go... no, run away from this place. With every step this feeling became stronger. She stomped on the feeling with all her willpower.

They passed by a paramedic, emptying his stomach at a wheel of the fire truck. It was a bad sign, because paramedics had a reputation of a tough lot when it came to gory sights. Pip stumbled and almost fell, grabbing Integra's forearm to regain the balance. His other hand came forth too, sliding along Integra's side and for a moment making it something close to an embrace. She turned sharply, but he didn't release the grip. His fingers dug deep enough into Integra's flesh to leave bruises, but he didn't seem to do it deliberately. Captain Bernadotte stood still and hunched, his face was turned down. His breath was fast and labored.

"Are you alright?"

Pip slowly rose his gaze at his commander. Mercenary's face was ghostly pale and covered with tiny beads of sweat.

"Yeah. - he squeezed out a bleak lopsided version of his trademark arrogant grin and withdrew his arm from Integra's sleeve. - Sorry."

She shrugged and walked on, pushing through the crowd. Among people's voices, crackling and squeaking of radios in opened vehicles, footfalls and soft murmur of working engines she heard dogs howling. What the hell... Alucard by her side said something. It didn't sound English.

"What? Speak louder!"

He shook his head and said nothing. They made their way between two police cars and finally faced the scene.

* * *

Glass and pieces of twisted metal were scattered as far as they could see. Two cars stood a few feet from each other. One of them was a standard black London taxi, the second one was hard to recognize. It was a smoldering piece of junk, covered with fire extinguisher foam. It looked like the cars'd collided and then recoiled from the impact. _Just a miracle the taxi hadn't caught the fire_, thought Integra, walking closer and trying to ignore the disgusting odor of burned rubber, plastic, gasoline and something else, familiar but not yet recognizable. Both cars were punctured with criscrossing rows of holes. Machine guns. Just perfect.

"Who the hell are you?"

Integra silently sighed and turned. Cops were always reluctant to let someone else onto their turf... This one was not an exception. A short balding man walked from behind an ambulance and glared at her. Surgical gloves on his hands and spots of soot on his suit clearly pointed that he'd taken a close look at the crime scene already.

"I'm Integral Hellsing. From Hellsing Institution. Are you in charge here?"

"Sir Integral? You?" - the man's scowl only deepened. He looked at her from head to toe. If he'd expected she would squirm under the scrutiny, a big disappointment was coming his way. Integra's face was blank like a mask. She raised her badge to his eye level, held it for him to inspect and abruptly let it fall back.

"You haven't answered my question. Who are you?" - she said calmly, looking into the man's eyes. She was a few inches taller and standing close enough to read her badge he had to look up at her. Judging by his face, it made his already foul mood even worse.

"Lieutenant Owens, C-13. Yes, I'm in charge here. - he grated, breaking the stalemate of stares. - I don't know what's your business here, but Chief Detective has called and ordered to touch nothing and wait for you."

"How nice of him. What has happened here?"

"Look by yourself. - lieutenant made a sweeping gesture in the direction of the trashed cars. - It was like this when the first patrol arrived."

"Any witnesses?"

"Nobody survived." - Owens winced and for a moment his face became unguarded - confused and haunted. He quickly looked away. Integra just nodded and went towards the rest of her team, who browsed the scene. Owens hesitated for a moment and followed her.

The moment she walked close enough to see Walter's face, she felt that her previous worries were a cakewalk comparing with the present situation. He looked stunned.

"Walter?" - she made his name a question, glancing into the taxi where her butler's gaze was directed. A young cabbie slouched against the steering wheel. One wide open brown eye was staring skywards blankly. The other was a bloody hole. A bullet had found it way through his head, splattering the backseat of the taxi with its driver's brain. Yuk, but it wasn't enough to shatter Angel of Death's composure.

"Lady Integra. - the old man's voice was low, almost a whisper. - I think we have a problem. A big problem. Look."

He pointed a flashlight at the taxi's floor. A mini-backpack lay there.

Integra frowned. "Well?"

"Miss Victoria has left Hellsing Hall with it tonight."

"Damn. Are you sure? It's a mass production item, anyone could..."

Walter sighed. "Yes, but..."

"But what?"

Walter just shook his head and motioned her to follow. They passed by the taxi and Integra finally understood what was that smell she couldn't recognize. Roasted meat. It came from the burned car. God. Ashes, police had said. Could it be this? Could their call be just a mistake and Hellsing really didn't have anything to do with this mess?

Walter passed by the burned car and when he stepped out of her view, the leader of Hellsing Institution saw her top agent. He was kneeling on the pavement above something small and black. It was Pussy.

* * *

Integra came closer and bent over the hellcat. It lay like a broken toy, glassy eyes opened wide, dainty fangs bared in a still grimace. Alucard carefully turned Pussy's small body and its limp paws fell aside, showing several wounds amidst the black fur of its belly.

"Silver. - said Alucard. - Nothing else could bring so much damage."

"It looks as if it was shot in a mid-jump."

"Most likely. - Alucard's voice held emptiness, no tone at all. It was much more frightening than any yelling. - The ultimate goal of any familiar is to protect its Master in critical situations."

"This freaky thing looks like a product of a nuclear holocaust. - Owens pushed past Walter and looked at the cat with a mix of curiosity and disgust. - Eight eyes, I'll be damned. Tabloid tales about rats-mutants in the Tube might be not total bullshit, after all. You say it's familiar to you? What on Earth is it?"

"That's on a 'need to know' basis, and you have no need." - snapped Integra icily.

"Bitch." - muttered Owens under his breath, but still audible. Under other circumstances Integra would've hardly let it slip. If not she, Alucard would've intervened in his usual manner and Owens would've got an Unique Cultural Experience. As it'd happened with Maxwell in the museum a few weeks ago... Now the vampire silently stood with the cat's body in his arms and looked at three heaps of fine ash in the middle of the street. Chalk silhouettes around their edges were roughly humanoid but that was about all. Once killed, an undead was practically unidentifiable. No teeth to check dental records, no clothes to recognize. Just ash. And eternal damnation. The fate of the her undead subordinate seemed more or less clear to Hellsing leader now and a sudden pain shot through her heart.

"Hellsing Institution takes over this case from this moment. - Integra braced herself for the official statement. - Walter, call a team from the Investigations."

"Oh really? Hope that next team of yours will know better than to puke on the crime scene." - said Owens in a tone of sugarcoated venom.

"What are you implying, lieutenant Owens?" - Integra tore her gaze away from the anonymous vampiric remains and frowned at the policeman.

Owens jerked a thumb over his shoulder: "Isn't Rapunzel over there one of yours? He looks like a living ad of barf bags."

Integra and Walter simultaneously turned to look and Walter's brow twitched. Integra clenched her teeth. A few yards away from them, on the sidewalk, Pip was on his knees, propping his upper body against a large red mailbox like an eager believer praying to a deity statue. The long blond braid trailed along his back, spilling on the ground. He was doing exactly what Lieutenant Owens had mentioned.

"Captain Bernadotte. - Walter walked up to him, waited the last spasms to pass and bent to help Pip stand up without stepping into his own generous offerings to the holy mailbox. - You haven't told us you've been feeling unwell."

"Unwell! Hah!" - Owens didn't look particularly healthy himself, but couldn't help but comment.

Pip slowly got up and staggered up to his commander, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, provided by Walter.

"I... I used to see worse things... Much worse and never felt like now... I don't know what's with me." - he finished almost helplessly.

_Beer, you bloody idiot, that's what with you. Beer and brandy._ Integra ached to say it aloud but restrained herself for Hellsing's reputation sake.

"Straja de sange." - Alucard appeared behind her back absolutely noiselessly and Owens jumped.

"Eh?"

"Straja de sange. Ward of blood. That's what with him - one of the early symptoms."

Walter suddenly strained: "Here? Are you sure?"

Alucard shrugged. "Dogs howl in the whole area by now - you just can't hear them through the noise. That's a first. As the daybreak comes closer, humans will start feeling it too - nausea, heartache, panic attacks, depression. And an unbearable urge to leave this place - at any costs, as soon as possible. The most sensitive ones experience it already."

"There can be other reasons for it... Natural ones."

"Deny it or not, Walter, but I know what I'm speaking about. - the vampire turned his cold gaze away from Walter and touched hellcat's bloodsoaked fur with an absentminded motion. His voice became lower. - The bond is still numb. I can't sense her."

"Alucard. - Integra spoke unusually softly. - Pussy jumped to protect her and was shot with silver. You've said it yourself. There are three dead vampires over there. You can't sense her through the bond no matter how you try. Let's face it. She's... dead."

* * *

"She's undead." - a first hint of emotion appeared in Alucard's empty voice. Anger. Goodie. Integra couldn't believe she felt relieved hearing it, but it was really so.

The vampire looked down at the lifeless body in his arms: "Her familiar hasn't turned into ash. It's a clear indication that its Master hasn't turned into ash as well, because technically Pussy is a part of her."

Owens uttered a peculiar muffled sound. Everybody ignored him.

Integra looked at Walter questioningly. "Is it true?"

The Hellsing veteran shrugged: "If he says so. I'm not an expert in such sophisticated metaphysics."

"All right. I believe. She's undead... somewhere. Great. - Integra quickly caught the mercenary, who suddenly swayed and pressed both hands to his stomach, looking like a dying swan. Or like shit, if to put it into less poetic words. - Now tell me about that straja thing. Our captain seems to be pretty sensitive to it."

Alucard looked down at Pip: "Indeed."

He pushed Pussy into Integra's arms, trading it for Bernadotte, carried the mercenary to the closest police car and slammed the door, sealing him inside. Integra rose her brows. Alucard seemed to understand the mute question, because he patted the car's roof and said:

"Cold iron. It minimizes the effect of the blood ward, but nobody could imagine enough iron to shield with it when it was invented."

"How old is this 'invention' then?"

"Old enough. Some Egyptian tombs still have them to wade away the robbers."

"Hm. I wonder if archeologists felt like our Captain while working there."

Alucard snorted.

"In their own way archeologists are tomb robbers too. Wards keep them away as well. They scurry out of the area without even realizing what made them do it."

Integra shook her head. "Back to the business, Alucard. What is this ward exactly?"

"Basically, it protects a vampire's lair during the day, spooking humans away from its range."

"I hear a 'but' coming."

"Two 'buts'. But there's something else. I don't know what it is, but it affects not only humans. - he paused. - I think I can't hear Seras because of it."

"It strips you of power?"

Alucard gave a reluctant nod. Integra tried to contemplate the new information, while Walter stepped aside, pulled out a phone and started talking to someone in the Investigations Department. The fire truck backed away and disappeared in the fog. Owens took his time to talk to one of the uniforms and other emergency vehicles started to disappear too. Only a few police cars stayed to block traffic. The street was returning to its normal pre-dawn quietness.

A pain shot through Integra's heart again and she pressed her left hand to the chest. Alucard looked at her intently.

"You begin to feel it too. - it wasn't even a question. - You have to leave this place."

Integra Hellsing shook her head stubbornly and let her hand fall down away from the chest, but a sudden thought made her heart squeeze again. She strained and looked into the vampire's eyes.

"You say such wards still work in Egypt several millennia after they were put up?"

"Uh-huh."

"Does it mean that it will be the same here, in London?"

Alucard shrugged: "Pretty likely."

"It's absolutely unacceptable! - the Hellsing leader stood straight, eyes burning. Her voice became low and dangerous. - Until people start ice skating in Hell, I will not let some fucking monster make a part of London abandoned!"

"Very colorful." - muttered Owens in sour tone. He walked up and caught only the last phrase of the discussion. Integra glared at him and turned away so sharply that her long blond hair slapped across his face.

"What can we do, Alucard? - she demanded. - Tell me!"

He looked down at her thoughtfully. Finally he spoke.

"The spell is altered, so I'm not sure. But if we find the sacrifices before the dawn, burn them and dump the ash into running water, it might help. If it was a common blood ward, I'd say it would be destabilized."

"Sacrifices?"

"Straja de sange needs human sacrifices to power itself."

"Oh, God. - Integra compressed her lips in a thin line, ignored a new fit of heartache and glanced at her watch. - We have less than two hours till the dawn, Alucard. I'll call in the troops and we'll start to search. I'll request aid from the police and army if needed."

"As the day comes closer, the spell will unfold into full force, Integra. - Alucard twisted his lips in a humorless smile. - I doubt that any human from your troops will be able to find his own butt with two hands and a detailed map where X marks the spot. Look at Bernadotte, and it's only a beginning."

"Do we have any other alternatives?"

"Actually, yes. Raise all the seals from me and I'll do the job."

* * *

Integra frowned and examined the vampire's face closely. The look on his face suddenly made her aware of how much older he was than she. His face could be still young, but his eyes were not. Something flowed across them, but she couldn't decipher his motives.

"You're serious."

"I wouldn't make a joke out of this."

"You've said this thing strips you of power. Are you sure you can accomplish this? You can't even sense your fledgling through the bond."

"That's why I need all restraints elevated. - he looked down the street at the broken cars and then switched his gaze at the pody of the hellcat on the hood of the police car. Somebody had wrapped it into a plastic bag, commonly used by police for evidence. He spoke low, but it carried. - Do it, my Master."

Integra stared at him. He stood motionless and quiet, his face averted and hidden in shadows. At last she made up her mind. She fished out a small pocket knife, peeled off her glove and cut her finger. The cut turned deeper than she intended, but it didn't matter. She looked at the welling blood and slowly, tentatively reached towards Alucard. Her blooded fingertip brushed against his lips and his breath came out in a deep, almost wounded sound.

"In the name of Cromwell, I, as the head of Hellsing and your Master, allow you to use all your power. Bring the victims of sacrifice here."

"Invocation of Cromwell confirmed. I have the permission. - the sigils on Alucard's gloves flashed with red light and got plain black again. A wave of change ran from them, conquering red fabric with black leather. - Restraints control disengaged."

"Do as I bid, Alucard. Hurry."

He nodded: "Yes, Master."

The power she had felt in the car on their way to this place ran through the air again, but this time it wasn't suppressed. It lashed out in a surge of wind, surrounding the vampire with a vortex of energy, rising to a choking value. His hair was getting longer, spilling on his back and boiling in the wind of energy as a black silky cloak, tangling in long strands around his leather-clad calves. The wind sent the tresses that edged his face across his mouth, so only his eyes were visible. The irises were solid shining red with his pupils like thin black slits within them. These ethereal eyes seemed to look through her, through the surrounding buildings, through everything. The next moment they vanished as the tall figure of the nosferatu fell apart, filling the night street with hundreds of bats. They rushed upwards, rising above roofs and drowning in the fog.

Integra shook her head and started to rummage her pockets for the phone. To fit the time limits they needed a helicopter and flamethrowers. No, napalm or something in the ballpark would be better...

She turned and almost bumped into Owens. The man looked petrified, and the expression on his face was of a little boy, who peered under the bed and found a big bad monster not only living there, but also shagging Mom to pass the time. Integra winced. She'd forgotten about him, how stupid... Well, the newfound problems had been distracting enough.

"I believe you understand that everything you've seen here tonight is classified, Owens."

He gulped and slowly focused his eyes on her face.

"And you do understand that you will go straight to Hell for dealing with this... this..." - he failed to find the matching word and simply glared at her.

Integra sighed. What a lousy night... And to think that only a couple of hours ago her biggest problem was insomnia.

"Judge not lest ye be judged yourself, Lieutenant Owens. And unless your first name is St. Peter, stop pretending to know anything about my afterlife accommodations. Now leave. I have to do my job and all you do here is get in my way."

Owens turned on his heels and walked to a brown car, parked a few yards away. Having opened the door, he looked at the Hellsing leader.

"I wish you luck with doing your job... Sir Integral." - he made it sound like an amalgam of curse and mockery.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Owens." - Integra's tone was far below cold. It was downright freezing.

The car roared to life and the policeman drove away, almost brushing Integra's legs with a side of his car. She watched the red spots of taillights disappearing in the distance, took the glasses off and rubbed her tired eyes.

_There's a place where everyone gets along, holding hands, singing "I love you" with flowers in their hair and dancing. It's called La La Land, girl, and its over the hills and through the woods. You can get there on a magic carpet with pixie dust in your eyes, being knocked out cold by another unfriendly vampire or just falling asleep after twenty hours long workday, if you are lucky and don't have a nightmare instead. But here, in the real world, nothing seems to be so easy. Solving one problem at a time is your only way. Don't delay the first one. _Integra finished her silent mantra and started to dial the number.

* * *

Author's note: The name of the spell is in Dracula's native language. 


	18. Chapter 18

The sound of a blow-dryer ceased and the silence after its whining noise felt as solid as pillows pressed to both ears. Integra got out of the bathroom and stepped into the pale strip of late morning sunlight, falling into her bedroom through the high windows. She closed her eyes, felt the floor swaying under her feet and quickly raised the eyelids again. She was so tired that actually could fall asleep standing in the center of the room... But all she could allow herself was time enough to take a shower. The stench of napalm and burning flesh had haunted her and she just couldn't stand it anymore. Who said that he loved the smell of napalm in the morning? Must be one sick weirdo... She started to dress when a phone rang.

"Lady Integra, I think I've found something... About those cuts on the victims."

"I'm coming to my office right now, Walter, meet me there."

"Are you... - there was a hint of hesitance in the old man's voice. - Are you all right, m'lady?"

The heir of Hellsing clenched her teeth and squared her shoulders. Damn. Integral Wingates Hellsing, the leader of Hellsing, hard as nails, unaffected by anything. Riiight. She allowed herself to be weak again, and even worse, she allowed the others to feel it.

"I'm fine, Walter."

She hung up and headed to the staircase. There were days and especially nights she wholeheartedly wished to be erased from her memory. The previous night was so damn one of those...

...By the time the Investigations arrived Walter persuaded her to get into the car, as the symptoms of straja de sange in her case were obviously growing stronger. When she opened the back door of her armored Rolls Royce, the face of Captain Bernadotte turned to her. He was still green around the edges, but the 'behold, I'm about to die' look was gone. Goodie. One problem off the list.

"Welcome to the bunker, boss."

She looked at the mercenary and rose her eyebrows. He sighed, scooted away along the backseat and patted the leather of the seat with his left hand in an inviting gesture:

"Cops kicked me out of their car - said they were ordered to leave. So I've ended up here."

Integra got in and closed the door. The overhead lights turned off after she closed the door, but they'd already done the nasty with her retinas. All she could see was Pip's face, floating in the darkness like a goofy moon.

"Feeling better, Captain?"

"Yeah. Count Fangface was right - cold iron helps... Speaking of the devil... Where's he?"

"Looking for the dead."

"Jesus on a crutch! - The mercenary strained. - Are there more?"

"Were you not listening? - Integra felt a wave of irritation rising, but toned down on second thoughts, - Ah yes, your condition..."

"Fuc... ehhh... Terribly humiliating to say it, but yes, my condition. Hell, I was better off back in Angola after being stupid enough to give fried bugs a try... Urp. - Bernadotte gulped and Integra, who found the sound somehow alarming, put an arm on the door, preparing for the quick retreat in case of fountaining emergency. However, he seemed to get a grip of himself and continued uneasily, - Care to tell? 'Bout the dead?"

Integra shrugged and presented him with a short version of Alucard's theories.

"Ye gods. Till dawn, you say? - the mercenary looked out of the window and leaned back, brooding. - It's within an hour. Who provides the bonfire?"

"Go straight to the practical, don't you? - the Hellsing commander's lips flexed humorlessly. - Army. They are bringing flamethrowers."

"I don't see them here."

"They'll wait us on the river."

"Ah."

A silence fell. All of a sudden Integra felt cold, almost freezing. She was fidgeting uncomfortably when Captain's voice came out of the darkness, low, cold and strangely empty: " Here... Trapped in nowhere..."

Integra turned to the mercenary. Her night vision was returning to normal and the sight made her raise her eyebrows. He was sitting absolutely still, with his back rigid, hands dropped with their palms up at the sides of his body. His stare was blank. In the same emotionless tone he continued: "No way out... Lost... Forever..."

"What are you talking about, Captain?"

Pip twitched, looked around wildly and rubbed his face.

"Uhh... Shit. Have I missed something?" - his voice was furry, as of a person who had just awakened from a sound sleep. Integra frowned.

"You..."

Sudden voices and noise outside interrupted her. She looked in that direction and at the same moment a tall figure walked up to the car and tapped fingers on the window, smearing something dark, thick and liquid over the glass.

"Mission accomplished, Master."

* * *

"Just about time, Alucard." - Integra opened the door, stepped out and looked up at the looming figure of the vampire. His face was all shadow but the ethereal red sparks in the wells of his eyes. He silently nodded in the direction of a small crowd of Investigations' folk, gathered around something on the ground. She walked down there, feeling the iron grip of pain upon her heart strengthening with every step. She shoved somebody aside with her shoulder and finally saw what they were looking at. There, in the halogen stare of nearby car's headlights, three bright spots of color bloomed. She closed her eyes, looked down again and her brain finally grasped the scene. For a second the world became a fluttering thing. Three naked bodies were on the asphalt. A male, two females, one of them probably in her early teens. Eyes - gone. Tongues in wide opened mouths - gone. Ears - gone. Internal organs - gone, making the body cavities look like hollowed out logs with splinters of ribs so suddenly white among all redness of gore. Alucard walked up and stopped by her side, looking down at the fruiting of his fetch-and-carry job.

"Every time... - her voice came out hoarse and heavy with anger, - Every time I think I've already learned the worst about your kin, Alucard, I'm wrong. Profoundly wrong. A ward you say? Just a ward to keep annoying strangers off your doorstep?! Hell!!!"

"Not exactly." - the vampire's voice came out bland, but Integra knew him long enough to recognize undertones of anger disguised by all that blandness. She sharply turned to him and took a long deep breath. It was meant to steady her but didn't succeed very well.

"What are you waiting for? Do you job!" - snarled she at the Investigations' personnel, who were still goggling at the corpses. Then she looked at Alucard again. He stood there, an arm on his hip, and watched the businesslike commotion spreading over the scene like a forest fire. Videos, pictures, fingerprints, blood samples... Everything that even theoretically might become of use after the bodies became grains of ash in muddy waters of the Thames.

"Not exactly? What's not bloody exactly?!"

"That. Look at their foreheads. And palms."

She did. All she could see were some scratches among the slightly clogged blood. She came closer and checked the other victims. Positive, all the three bore the same deep carves in a form of broken, lopsided zigzag. She motioned the photographer to take close shots of those and returned to the vampire.

"So?"

"So it's the unknown factor added to the equation. Common straja de sange wouldn't need that. It wouldn't require taking out the eyes, ears and tongues either."

Integra Hellsing tilted her head.

"Do you... feel or hear - or whatever you call that - what that factor adds?" - she asked suddenly.

"Of course."

"Does it affect your senses? Impair them?"

"One way or another - maybe. - Alucard shook his head, sending long strands of black hair across his face. _Not much may in that be_, - thought Integra, tipping the vampire a sardonic glance, - _but God forbid to admit that. Damn egomaniac._

"What is it like?"

"It's like... - the vampire paused and grinned, but it was no more than a stretch of the lips exposing the fangs. - It's like explaining color coordinating to Stevie Wonder, if that tells you something. You don't have proper senses to understand it."

"Get off your high horse, Alucard. I suppose you're bright enough to find words that have at least vague resonance for us, mere mortals."

"All right. - anger became clearer in the vampire's matter-of-fact voice. - Chaos. Does it resonate enough, Master?"

"I bet 'a smokescreen' has one hell of resonance too. - came a voice from behind them. - All this shit reeks of a covert operation."

Integra turned and saw Pip, standing a few feet from them. Behind his back a crew of Cleaners was loading body bags into a van, resembling ants hauling dead caterpillars. The mercenary had got a couple of L85 assault rifles somewhere and stood, clutching them to his chest like dear babies. Integra frowned: "What makes you think we need this kind of firepower now, Captain?"

"Surgeon General's recommendations. - the Wild Goose jerked a thumb in Alucard's direction and held one of the rifles out to Integra. - Actually, this one's for you, ma'am."

She looked at him questioningly.

"Compromise is an imperfect art. I figured that if I don't want to stay in the car, I should at least pack some iron up. - he shrugged and muttered in a sour sotto voce, - like Prince fucking Charming."

Integra preferred to ignore that last remark and took the rifle, pressing it close to her bosom. The blasts of pain shooting through her heart in some sort of excruciating Morse Code, were not gone but rather subsided into dull ache.

"Good idea. - Integra favored Bernadotte with an approving nod and turned her gaze to the scene, - Although we're almost finished here. It's time for the pyre."


	19. Chapter 19

When she entered her office, Walter was there, taking a tray with tea utensils from a maid. Seeing the Lady of the House, he motioned the maid to leave and bowed to Integra. Integra answered him with a thankful nod - strong tea was exactly what she needed now to think clearly. She took a seat and waited while Walter poured a cup for her. Then she raised her gaze at the butler:

"Well, Walter? What have you found?"

"Not too much, but... Those cuts look exactly like a occult sign, called... - the old man looked into the paper he brought with him and read carefully, - ...viparilupta deva nizrayani. Broken ladder to gods."

Integra couldn't help but to raise her brows: "What language is it?"

Walter sighed: "Sanskrit, m'lady."

"Uh-huh... Sanskrit. Right. Please, continue."

"According to some studies... To put it short, it barred the way to gods. If someone died in a certain ritual with such a sign on his body, the soul of that unfortunate person would stay on Earth forever and eventually rot, or rather slip into eternal madness. They considered it an ultimate punishment."

"Who considered?"

"Ancient Aryans."

"Oh God... - Integra put the cup on the desk and stared at Walter. - How old is this... belief?"

"The studies say that it's probably pre-Brahmanic... Around 1500 B.C. then."

"O-o-okay... - the leader of Hellsing tented her fingers on the table, - take a seat, Walter, and let's talk. We need clues."

"Yes, m'lady." - the Hellsing veteran pulled a chair to the desk and sat down.

"If it's really that vip... viper… the broken ladder pictogram, who could use it? Someone who had a chance to learn the rituals in their heyday? Do you think there is a thirty five centuries old vampire behind all the mess?"

"I've never heard of vampires that old. Seems rather unrealistic to me..."

"However, we can't discard this theory either."

"Indeed, Lady Integra. But I haven't finished... - the old man leaned forward and mirrored his commander's pose. - The studies I've mentioned - all of them are from our old intelligence archives..."

Integra strained: "What was that intelligence about?"

"Ahnenerbe, a secret branch of SS. They roamed far and wide, looking for all kinds of occult knowledge... Hitler was obsessed with ideas of immortality and godhood."

"Immortality, huh... You and Alucard dealt with Ahnenerbe's experiments in 1944. Could it be..."

Someone knocked at the door. Integra cringed, called "Enter!" and turned to Walter.

"Could anybody survive after that cleaning up?"

"Lady Integra, I was fourteen back then. You should ask Lord Alucard - your father might have shared more information with him..."

"Tell him to come here. Now." - she pushed the phone across the table to Walter and looked at the door. When she saw her visitor, she cringed again. Captain Bernadotte obviously had no time to change his clothes after the night ordeal. Last night they were tolerable, but everything looks different in the bright light of the day... Pip stood in a stripe of daylight, and his T-shirt stood out against the dark wooden panels of a wall behind his back. _Hell, the damn thing would've still stood out even if there was a flying saucer and an 'EARTHLINGS! WE'VE COME TO FUCK YOUR BRAINS!' neon slogan in the background. - _thought Integra in dismay_. - Where's that bloody Alucard with his lections about color coordinating, when you need him? _

"What brought you here, Captain?" - she asked aloud.

"Reports, Sir Integral. - the mercenary was active and all businesslike. A morning person, obviously. He didn't look the least bit tired, even after no sleep at all. It was disgusting. - I've talked to my people, who dealt with FREAKs last night. They noticed a change of FREAKs' behavior pattern. Some looked like in pain, one or two looked stoned and didn't even try to fight back or escape. Also, there were a few, who seemed to go berserk - they even attacked each other."

Integra shrugged. - "Strange indeed, but... It makes things easier for us. Anything else, Captain?"

"Yes. Investigations fellows've found this on Seras's taxi. - Bernadotte put a plastic bag on the desk. - It was attached to the rear bumper."

Integra picked the bag and looked at its contents closer. There was a small black cylinder inside. Walter hanged the phone and moved closer to look at the object too.

"I take it, it's confirmed nonexplosive." - he said dryly.

"They've checked it. It's a standard GPS transmitter. Somebody put a homing beacon on the taxi. After Seras took it, most likely."

"Looks like you hit the point about a covert operation, Captain.- Integra glanced at the Wild Goose and turned to Walter, who held the phone by his ear again. - Where's Alucard?"

"Lord Alucard doesn't pick the phone, m'lady. Turned it off, probably..."

"Damn him... Walter, close the curtains. I'll call him here through the bond."

Walter hesitated: "M'lady, but if he's sleeping now the summoning'll drain you of energy! I'd better..."

"I'd better give him some room to sulk if I were you. - barged in Pip, - The last time I checked, he was in a really rotten mood. Dragging him over through that metaphysical shit..." The mercenary made a face and shook his head. Integra presented him with an acerbic stare.

"You're quite a humanitarian, Captain."

" Yeah, that's good old me for ya... - Pip grinned, his blue eye glistened nastily, - Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King should better watch their asses - I'll compete 'em outta the league!"

"Ah, so? You may start the competition by going down and bringing Alucard here, then. Wake him up if needed."

"Wait a second... Whoa, wait!"

"Just do it, Captain. - Integra smiled, feeling mild amusement cut through her general mood like a ray of light through a dusty dark attic. - .After all, that's what I'm paying you for. Following my orders, right?"

"Right. - the mercenary nodded. - Right. So, the order is to fetch the vampire. Yes, sir... Ma'am."

* * *

The door behind the mercenary closed. "Am I the soldier of the Cross? Increase my courage, Lord!" - came floating through the layer of oak and steel, reverberated with the echo of the old high-ceilinged corridor.

"Singing. Feeling straja de sangue first. Protecting Alucard's feelings. He turns to be quite a sensitive soul. - Integra grunted. - What's next - writing poems?"

"If limericks count - done already." - Walter's tone was dry with disapprovement. Integra couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and stare at the old man.

"Limericks? About whom?"

Walter's face became awfully cold, giving its sole observer some inkling about the possible names in the list. She chuckled and waved her hand in dismissal.

"Don't answer. Ignorance is surely bliss sometimes. - her gaze fell on the papers Walter had brought from the archives. - Moreover, it's not like we have time to waste."

The butler just nodded grimly.

"What do you want me to do, m'lady?"

"Recheck the archives, Walter. Meticulously. Look for every bit of information along the lines of the theories we have."

"An old powerful vampire with exotic occult skills or Ahnenerbe survivors?"

"Yes. - Integra shook her head. - I don't even know which of them seems worse to me."

"I don't know either, m'lady. - the lines on the old man's face grew deeper, as he bowed and turned to the door. - I'll try to dig out something."

When the butler left, Integra tried to tend the stack of fresh mail, but soon neat printed lines started to scatter like sheep. Eyes felt as if there was sand in them. She took off the glasses, rubbed her numb face and put it on the crook of her left elbow, pressing her cheek to the cool surface of the desk. She shut her eyes to ease the burning sensation in them. Just a minute of rest and they'll be fine...

A loud knock at the door and a voice behind it jerked her out of sleep. _Ow__, ow, ow. How long I've been sleeping? Damn. _She hastily slid the glasses on her nose, ran fingers through the hair and touched her lips. No drool to ruin the business image, jolly good.

"Come in!"

"Sir Integral! - a tech from Investigations department was breathless after running. Her sharp, excited voice made Integra flinch. - Sir Integral, there!"

"What's happened? Calm down, Ms..." - Integra tried to remember the name of the tech but gave up. One of the new ones, hired after the Valentine bros. massacre. Another rookie...

"McNeil, Sir Integral. I'm sorry... - for a second the woman looked embarrassed but continued. - But none of us knows what's going on... It's the dead cat we got after the night operation. It was in a plastic bag and labeled as evidence, so I put it into the fridge..."

"And?"

"It disappeared, Sir Integral! The fridge is empty, the plastic bag is sealed and untouched!" - McNeil paused, and nervously clenched her hands on the hem of her lab coat.

_That's it. _- thought Integra bitterly. - _If the familiar's body disintegrated, then... Seras's status isn't M.I.A. any more. It's K.I.A. Lord, be merciful to her soul... _

"One more thing... - the tech cleared her throat and continued. - The bag was smeared with blood from inside, when I saw it last time and... The blood is gone too. The bag is clean."

"Clean? No ash inside?"

"No. It's as good as new."

Integra felt her brows climb up on the forehead and quickly readjusted her expression to the unrevealing professional mask. It would be odd for vampire's remains, but she didn't know much about familiars. She cast a glance at her watch - it was half an hour since Walter had left. A little more since Bernadotte had gone to Alucard. Damn. She rose to her feet and walked out from behind the desk.

"Thank you, Ms McNeil. If anything strange occurs again... - Integra mused for a second, - report to Walter - he's in the northern wing archive block - or me. I'll be all the way downstairs."

"If you want to do something right, do it yourself." - grumbled she, heading to Alucard's lair.

* * *

The hallways and staircases of the manor were buzzing with life and movement, but the ancient stairwell, going thirty yards underground, was empty as usual. Footfalls rang against old limestone walls, diminishing into strange whispering echo. It was growing colder. When she passed the last flight of stairs, it was so cold that her surprised gasp came out as a tiny cloud of white fog. She opened the heavy door, leading to the dungeons and stopped. It was pitch dark behind the door. The darkness was almost palpable, it pressed against the doorframe like earth. Integra cussed silently and flipped the switch on and off several times. Finally something cracked and dim lamps lit the underground corridor.

_Time to kick the electrician's ass again.__ Where did he get that idea about the vampires munching him up the very moment he sets his foot here... _- thought Integra absently, walking down the corridor. - _But what's going on here... Shit, it's freezing!"_

She turned around the corner and stopped inches short not to place her boot on an arm. A human arm. Without thinking she grabbed the butt of her gun and looked around. All quiet. She looked down. Captain Bernadotte was half-sitting, reclining against the wall. He was deadly pale, eyes closed, blue lips compressed tight in a grimace of... agony? terror? Integra stooped down to him, still with a gun in her hand, and touched his neck to find a pulse.

The skin was icy cold, but the heart worked. Slow, but steady. Tiny puffs of fog from his lips indicated that his lungs were functioning too.

"What in the blue fuck...Alucard, if it's your handiwork..."- murmured she, turning Captain's head sideways in a quick search for bitemarks. Nothing, but a throat wasn't the only place where blood streams came close enough to the surface. In a male body there were five more easy access spots where vampires could feast upon fresh arterial blood... To strip him and check them all? _Dammit__, dammit, dammit..._

Pip coughed and opened an eye. His stare was glassy and wild. The mercenary rose on his knees and grasped Integra's wrist with such strength that she hissed softly.

"Captain, what the..."

"I see dead people! - he fought chattering teeth to get that out. - Do you understand? I see dead people!!!"

"You are hurting me, Captain."

Maybe it was the calm tone that worked. Pip's gaze cleared, violent lines on his face smoothened.

"Oh... - he looked at her wrist in his grip as if wondered what it was doing there. - My apologies...I didn't mean to..."

He released her arm and hunched down in a kneeling position, huddling in on himself as if freezing to death. However, it was growing warmer - closer to the usual chill of a place deep underground. Integra holstered her gun and after a moment of hesitation kneeled beside her subordinate.

"Tell me what happened."

"I... went right here after you ordered me to fetch Alucard. When I walked about halfway down the corridor, the lights went out... - he paused, looked at his arms, still hugging his shoulders, and carefully put them in his lap, - I figured that a flashlight would be handy and turned back. It was so dark that I wasn't sure whether my eyes were open or not... But then something changed. I... It became cold all of a sudden... Fucking freezing... And then I heard voices in my head... Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Well... In any other case I would've asked when was the last time you had a CAT scan, but... - Integra bit her lip, - I felt that coldness too. It was something abnormal."

"Abnormal, heh, I like that... - the mercenary shook his head and looked up, one eye glimmered feverishly through blond strands, - That's a hope I haven't ripened enough for a nuthouse after all... So, after hearing those voices I...Guess I freaked out. I tripped and fell, and when I lifted my head they were everywhere."

"Who?"

"Dead people, I've told you already... All fucking flavors. In modern clothes, in ancient clothes, naked... - he suddenly chuckled nervously, - ... with autopsy Y-cuts, holy shit! They seemed to wander aimlessly and looked distressed... The voices I heard first - that were them. Screaming and mumbling... Then... They became aware of me somehow. Touched me... I don't remember shit after that."

For once, Integra didn't know what to say. Just "Wow!" seemed kind of wrong, so...

"How do you feel now?"

"Peachy keen. - Bernadotte's tone didn't quite match the words but was returning to normal already. - How long was I absent?"

"Half an hour. Why?"

Pip gave that all-purpose shrug that could mean everything and nothing.

"Just measuring your patience in case I'll have to run errands for you again. Looks like half an hour is your limit, Sir Integral... - he smiled, but his gaze was still dark and haunted, - Guess I'm lucky."

* * *

"Do you know what was all that stuff? - asked Pip when they walked down the twisting corridor to the place where Alucard usually rested during the day. - The dead I've seen... Should I wear a cross now? Or - hell! - a tinfoil hat on my head?"

"I wish I knew, Captain. - Integra frowned, - But in times like these wearing a cross wouldn't harm you anyway..."

The mercenary glanced at her: "Times like these?"

"Well... All kinds of weird things keep piling up since last night. And to think that the last week was so calm and peaceful... I should have seen this coming."

"I see. Zebra Law."

'What do you mean?"

"Well, you know... Life is like a zebra - white stripes and black stripes, as some poetic shitbag observed."

Integra raised an eyebrow at that as the mercenary kept elaborating:

"But if you look at a zebra, any zebra, and check all its stripes starting from its head, the last one is always white... A solid, wide, fabulous white stripe. Often it's the widest on the whole freakin' animal. Great, huh? But eventually it ends and when you move past it you find yourself in deep shit. Literally."

The leader of Hellsing grinned. Bernadotte managed to keep a straight face when he finished pompously: "And here goes the ultimate rule of thumb, the Zebra Law. The wider is the white stripe you enjoy, the better is the chance that your next step will dip you into a substance stinking to high heaven... You may print this wisdom in a fancy font and stick it to your fridge for easy reference."

The lecture lightened the mood, but the moment of enthusiasm passed as soon as they stopped in front of a high door in the dead end of the corridor. It was a heavy duty, reinforced steel door with remains of some pattern painted on it. Ten years had passed already, but every time Integra came down here, a tidal wave of memories flooded her mind... Bitter memories, mostly. And, as always, she couldn't help but wonder what her life would be like if her father's chemotherapy had been successful... She shook her head sadly and glanced aside. The Wild Goose stood beside her, eyed the door and looked solemn too. Finally he grunted.

"I know plenty of guys... - he began, still drilling the door with his stare, - mere humans and good Christians, mind you! - who'd go ape shit and make a fair attempt to kill everyone daring to wake them up in the middle of the night. It's high noon now, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"For him it must be equal to the middle of the night. Life insurance never sounded so good... to me at least." - the mercenary smirked wryly and knocked at the door.

The door produced a dull gong-like sound but no more sounds followed. They repeated the drill with the same zero results.

"Maybe he's out somewhere?" - mused Bernadotte with a hopeful edge in his voice.

Integra shrugged: "We'll get in and see."

"I knew you'd say that. - Pip pushed the handle with one hand, quirked his eyebrow, and continued the exercise with both hands, then with the whole side of his body. Muscles bulged under the short sleeves of his T-shirt and his voice was strained with effort, when he muttered, - I'd call this door an overkill even for a submarine... Is it locked from inside?"

"More likely the hinges are a bit rusty. Alucard rarely bothers himself with doors - he just walks through walls. Or ceilings, for that matter."

"Way to go for him, but... Hah! - the door screeched spasmodically and opened. - Voila!"

Integra stepped forward, found a switch and turned the lights on. Captain Bernadotte walked up and peered inside.

"Holy shit!" - he observed.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

"I had him pegged as a better designer. - mused Pip in a low voice, - What the hell is this thing? It ranks somewhere between Elvis velvet paintings and those pictures with dogs playing poker... Jesus."

The object in question was a small frameless picture, lying on the blood-red rug. Where its place had been on the wall - one could only guess. The room carried signs of heavy trashing. A coffee table had become a pile of planks and splinters by the far wall, as if thrown against it with some wild force. A massive leather sofa was kicked out of its place and turned over, its short legs sticking into the air helplessly. Bookcases stood at an odd angle to the wall. Alucard's coffin was nowhere to be seen, but Integra knew that this part of Alucard's suite was supposed to be a living room. If 'living' was the right term in Alucard's case. Integra looked around, frowning. She could give a rat's ass for the ruined decor, but a couple of dozens of empty blood bags, littering the floor and the remains of the furniture, concerned her. With all restraints back in place he shouldn't have had such cravings...

"Young King Ours... It looks like a cover of a magazine. - continued Pip, still in his acute criticizing spree, - What's with the silly name? Young King, hah. Even retards should know - Old Queen is the name that would appeal to Britons better..."

"Quit it. - interrupted Integra sharply. - I will not tolerate any badmouthing of one of the world's most cherished, most benevolent queens!"

"What? I haven't said a single bad word about Elton John yet! - Bernadotte's tone was rich with pious innocence, but Integra's arctic glare made him heave a sigh and add, - Just kidding. Sorry. Got carried away."

The leader of Hellsing looked at her subordinate and nodded silently, accepting the apologies. She knew what was going on. Obviously Captain knew it too, but couldn't help it. Sometimes people have such reactions in them when they've just ran facefront into a situation, that have shaken them badly. When it's over, verbal diarrhea comes as an aftermath. They lull themselves with the sound of their own voice, giving the fresh memories of fear, shame or pain some time to blunt their cutting edges.

Sheer curiosity made Integra walk up to the art expert-wannabe and look at the defenseless target of his bitching. The picture was pretty bright, but as far as she could judge it was quite a few levels below Bernadotte's acid-trip-gone-terribly-wrong T-shirt pattern on the scale of general monstrosity. She looked at the picture again. It portrayed a man holding a huge gun in his left hand, grinning and clenching a small crucifix in his teeth. Substitute for a toothpick, maybe.

"Don't you think the man in the picture looks like Alucard?"

Pip surveyed the picture for a few seconds. "Nah, - he concluded at last, - There's some resemblance... But just look at this dude! For all I know, Alucard would've rather had himself beheaded than wear such a dorky hat. And what's written on his gun! 13mm Clockwork Giant Pandas! Heh-heh-heh... I wonder who'd drawn it..."

"You may ask Alucard about it later. - Integra's patience manifested its limits. - Alucard, I know that you're near. Come out, come out, wherever you are."

"He's here?! - Pip turned around, following Integra's stare at a large bookcase standing by the wall. Only a few inches of a doorframe showed from behind it. - Oh, I see... Hi."

"I told you he doesn't bother himself with doors... I have news, Alucard. And questions."

The vampire glided through the bookcase, greeting his Master with a formal nod. He was in his usual street clothes, complete with the hat and the sunglasses.

"Figured already. Why else would you come all the way here?"

He walked around the humans, put the sofa on its bottom and motioned them to take a sit. Then he sank into a matching armchair in front of the sofa. The vampire looked composed and solitary, but thrumming undercurrents of power under the calm facade had been strong enough to let Integra feel them even through stone walls, let alone across the room.

"Let's hear your news."

After a short summary of Walter's theories Alucard leaned his elbow on his chair arm and his chin on his hand.

"That operation was hasty. We cleaned everyone we could find, but... There were rumors about Ahnenerbe founding a base somewhere in Latin America. They were never confirmed, though."

"Have you known anybody with Aryan ritual magic among their tricks?"

"No."

Not too much information... Integra was feeling decidedly grumpy. The trip downstairs was about useless. On the other side of the couch Bernadotte fidgeted, pulling his long braid from behind his back. Well, maybe it wasn't completely useless after all... She looked at Alucard and asked:

"Have you been here since we came back home?"

"I've spent some time here, yes." - Alucard's voice was indifferent.

"What about the last hour?"

Now she's got the full attention from the vampire. He took off the sunglasses and crinkled his dark eyebrows:

"You sound like a cop all of a sudden. Should I have an alibi or what?"

"Just answer the damn question!"

"I couldn't sleep. So I've just... wandered around."

"Wandered, huh... - she exchanged glances with Pip. - Interesting choice of words."

* * *

"You've seen vagrant dead? - Alucard was staring at the mercenary intently, - And they've tried to touch you? Impressive."

"Quit looking at me as if I've sprouted a second head. - grumbled Pip. - You're beginning to give me creeps."

"Just beginning? - Alucard smiled coldly, fangs deliberately peeked into view. - I must be losing my touch."

"Enough already. - Integra felt dead tired. She rummaged her pockets for a cigar, found it and looked around for an ashtray. It was nowhere to be seen, probably buried under the debris of the coffee table. Oh, well. Life sucked in so many different ways. She put the cigar back and raised her eyes on the vampire. - What the hell was all that? I felt cold too."

"You felt cold because our dear Captain... - Alucard's palm rose lazily and pointed at Bernadotte with a flourish, - ... turns out to be a medium. A strong one."

"Nice try. Am I supposed to believe that New Age bullshit?" - Pip sat straight and glared at the vampire.

"Actually, that's pretty Old Age. As for your instant judgment..." - the vampire's tone dropped to utterly sarcastic, - ...no doubt, it is based on your profound knowledge and experience."

"Whatever. Vagrant Dead 101, Alucard." - demanded Integra quickly, preventing an opportunity of another squabble.

"As you wish, Master. - emotions vanished, his expression and voice betrayed nothing again. - There are souls, who cannot move on after their decease. They refuse to accept the fact of death and stay bound to this world... They cannot go far away from the place their bodies are. Eventually most of them give up and go on."

Hellsing leader raised her eyebrows.

"There're no cemeteries around this place. No morgues either. How come Captain saw them here if they are tied to their graves?"

"Something disturbed their quiet community. Made them really vagrant, and that takes some doing. - the vampire crossed his arms, thinking, - If Walter is right, those three with broken ladder signs are trapped between the worlds forever. That, combined with recent straja de sange could be the reason."

"Could? You sound as if you're not sure."

"I'm not an expert. I can't see vagrant dead - it takes quite a special talent to do that. – the vampire nodded in Pip's direction, - Maybe they are the factor that affects my senses, but again, I'm not sure. They are a rare phenomenon."

Integra bit her lip, thinking.

"What else can disturb the dead that much?"

"If a soul's will power and determination to return is really strong, it can force itself back into the body and rise as an undead. A true vampire. - Alucard fell silent, as if recollecting something. - I was told that it always tends to make the ghosts restless. Envious, maybe."

Integra made a deep intake of breath, trying to digest the news. FREAKs creation technology was still a mystery, but she'd been sure she knew all about how true vamps are born. Surprise, surprise.

"Why haven't you ever told me about that?"

"You've never asked." - something glittered in Alucard's gaze. Arrogance? Amusement? Integra made an exasperated sound and rose from the sofa. The mercenary glanced at her and leaned forward.

"If that's true, what should I do not to see the ghosts again?"

Alucard shrugged.

"Every sense works better when the others are dulled. Avoid darkness and silence."

"Thanks, man." - Bernadotte nodded seriously and got up too, following his commander to the door. He almost bumped into her, as frowning Integra turned on her heels to face the vampire: "One more thing. Investigations' personnel reported that the cat's body is gone."

Alucard was suddenly on his feet in one smooth motion. Shields were dropped, power flowed from him, filling the room like rising water. The irises of his eyes glowed blood-red, and the weight of his fierce stare was crushing. The leader of Hellsing didn't flinch. "I'm sorry, Alucard." - she said.

"When did it happen?"

"Nobody knows for sure. About twenty minutes ago they opened the fridge and saw the empty evidence bag."

"Wait. Empty?"

"McNeil said it's as good as new..." - Integra trailed off in mid-sentence and blinked, looking at her undead servant dubiously. Alucard slowly covered his eyes with eyelashes, his face smoothened. The choking tinge of rage abruptly disappeared from the air. With ethereal red fire of his irises hidden he could pass for a human.

"Good kitty." – said he fondly and smiled.

* * *

Author's note: Young King Ours is the magazine, where Hellsing is serialized. If you want to see the picture Captain Bernadotte bitched about, just look at the cover of Hellsing manga vol.1. 13mm Clockwork Giant Pandas, eheheh… I like that.


	21. Chapter 21

She was floating and floating and floating, and there was nothing around. No movement. No colors. No light. No gravity. No time. Complete and utter nothing. She was a tiny spark of existence in a void. Finally something changed. Thoughts appeared. They flowed slowly like a very thick liquid.

_Who am I? _- she thought. - _Where am I?_

A jolt of memories came next, filling her with knowledge. It made her scream soundlessly, trying to deny all the memories had implied.

_Why can't I feel my body?! Am I dead? It... can't be! _

The thought was beyond scary. Chaotic waves of horror crashed on her, eliminating thoughts, threatening to wash away the awareness she'd obtained. She clung to the memories, trying to find a safe harbor in them, and they flicked like a kaleidoscope - various scenes of her life, people she'd known, deeds she'd done. But there were so many more - things undone, unsaid, unfinished... It was unbearable. Horror receded, overridden by another feeling. Anger.__

_I will not die, I REFUSE to die! I want to stay in this worl__d__,__ live,__ learn, love, go and see the places I've seen only on TV, eat snowflakes next winter... Oh, hell! I've been knocked down so many times before, knocked down figuratively and literally, and I've always got up and struggled on, so I'll get up this time. I'll live, I want to and I will, dammit, I will!!!_

Anger flared, building up into clear, pure rage, reaching out into surrounding nothingness like an explosion of Supernova. Something gave up under its power and the void turned into a maelstrom, a vortex, pulling her somewhere...

Senses returned, reporting awful cold, darkness, pain, monotonous _huff-huff_ of some mechanism above her head and muffled distant voices. Profound relief swept her, but it lasted only a few moments. She couldn't move. She felt her body, but couldn't move the smallest muscle, couldn't even blink. First stirrings of fear crept forth, but she knew better now.

_Don't panic, __Victoria__. Panic will not bring you anywhere._

Footfalls. Voices came closer.

"Dumpfbacke." - a young male voice said.

"But sir, the operation was a success! Doctor left us clear orders to get the younger vampire for his experiments, if such an opportunity arises. We did as he'd bid." - this voice was obviously older, but had subservient undertones in it.

"Oh yes, you did. Doc may get a new and cute guinea pig, that's true, but only if she survives and I doubt that."

"Cryofreezing will keep her body in its current state..."

"Ja, and as soon as Doc defrosts her, she'll turn into ash in his hands. He'll be extatic, I bet. Maybe he'll use you as a guinea pig instead, even if you are far from being a rare specimen. - he snorted sarcastically. - Idiots are common everywhere."

"Mr. Schroedinger, I'm sure..."

"Sure?! Now listen to me, Du... Arsch mit Ohren! - the accent in the younger man's speech became clearer, as he lost his temper. - Cryofreezing was never tested on a true vampire, let alone so freshly raised and badly injured as this one. You didn't even let her wounds close or stopped the bleeding."

"She put a fight, killed three members of the assault group! There was no time to..."

"Shut up. The experimental spell you used to cover up had never been tested in big and old cities. You were not authorized to run it, especially for a mere kidnapping operation. It's like using something with a potential of a thermonuclear device to kill bugs... Look what we've got for your ineptitude. The London branch is a mess! Half of the men are going crazy and even I feel this buzzing in my head. Saugut! It seems even stronger now... and nobody knows when the effect of the spell will tone down. Hellsing and Iscariots are not stupid, they will start to suspect something and hell knows what they'll dig up. And... - there was a soft slithering noise as somebody stroked a smooth metallic surface inches from Victoria's head, - there's a chance the girl won't survive. All for nothing and a major fuckup."

"What... What your orders will be?" - the older voice was small and scared.

"Prepare everything we need to ship the girl to the headquarters, but don't touch her or transfer her into another cryorefrigerator. Try to calm the personnel and establish some discipline. And for your own sake - think twice before you do something!"

"I'll tell the pilots to get to the plane immediately."

"Scheisse, use your head!!! We can't trust our pilots now - they can snap any moment and nosedive the plane into the ground!"

"I can hire humans..."

"I'll do it myself. You screw up everything you do."

* * *

The owner of a young voice left, closing a door with a distinct metallic _clank_, the second man stayed. He swore, paced the room and in a minute or two left the place too_._

_Cryofreezing?__ I am... what did they say on TV - minus 190° C?! _- Victoria's mind hiccupped on an idea of being reduced to an ice statue and still being able to function somehow. She kicked the disturbing image into the back of her consciousness.

_I must get out of here. _– thought she frantically. - _I don't know what's going on, but all that sounds really bad. Guinea pigs, spells, shipping me to the headquarters... I must get out of here and bloody quick!_

She tried to move again, but the attempt was futile. Nothing but her nervous system worked. She was effectively paralyzed and absolutely helpless. When it fully dawned on her, she snapped.

"Somebody, help me! - cried she silently. - Help me!"

Despair grew to its peak but she couldn't do anything. She just lay there, feeling her time running out. Suddenly a new sound cut through the silence: something was pinging - a sharp, ear-piercing sound alarm systems would produce. Close, very close. It was maddening. It was delirious. It brought hallucinations... A tiny fluttering spot in her chest, next to a rock-hard lump of frozen meat that used to be her heart. It radiated warmth in waves, throbbing like a second heart... Not a hallucination. The temperature was really climbing up. Soft gurgling and hissing were coming from everywhere. Liquid nitrogen starting to boil? She didn't know. All she knew was that the spot turned into a line... And on the other end of that weird line something materialized out of thin air, landed on her stomach and stayed there. Heat enveloped her, running from her head to her toes, wrestling the cryogenic frost grip. More pain came along with the heat, but for once Victoria didn't mind pain. It promised the ability to move and that was all that mattered. She managed to open her eyes, but couldn't see anything informational - just bits of darkness through the rimed eyelashes. Crackling noises added themselves to the widening array of sounds. She wriggled her fingers. They were stiff, but at least they obeyed. Slowly, tentatively she tore her hand from the ice bed it rested on. The arm went up and in a second her fingers dug into something soft and warm. It writhed and four pairs of glowing red eyes stared at Victoria from the dark. A small rough tongue licked her palm. A simple jump of deduction made her smile and clutch a handful of wet fur in her trembling fingers. The fingers quickly unclenched, when an especially loud crackle above her head was followed with a thin beam of light, oozing through a fresh fracture in the lid. The alarm-like device outside was fully engaged now, making shrill howls instead of pinging.

_The change of the temperatures is too intense. _- came an absent thought, - _No material can stand up to that. But how could I... never mind. I'll think about it later. Time is really running out. The noise... It can alert someone... _

She raised both hands and pressed them against the smooth cold steel of the lid. It brought another wave of pain, but she clenched her teeth and continued the effort. The steel complained with a moaning screech and gave up, bending outward. Victoria grabbed the ragged edges of the hole and pulled herself up, squeezing through the narrow opening.

Finally she got up, staggering and keeping her hands on the cryochamber for balance. Her feet were still inside, but she couldn't muster enough energy to get down to the floor. She just stood there, feeling sickeningly lightheaded, and looked at the place she'd almost died in. It was a small windowless ward, clean and almost empty but a few racks with some electronic equipment and canisters. The cryofreezer dominated the room, sitting in its center like a bizarre futuristic coffin with tubes and wires running from its side and hiding somewhere under its bottom. The steel of the core was of the distinct grayish shade indicating at high percentage of titanium in the alloy. A hysterically blinking and howling control panel adorned the head side of the cryofreezer, so Seras reached forward and punched it, putting an end to its noisy manifestation. The rapid movement induced another wave of dizziness and she moaned softly, dropping to her knees. The hellcat's curious face popped through the side of the cryochamber, scrutinized the wrecked panel and uttered an approving mew. Having accomplished its cheerleading mission, Pussy jumped out and started to explore the new territory.

_I'm not at my best and my brightest today, that's for sure. _- thought Victoria bitterly. - _How many times did I slip through the lid of my own coffin without ruining the damn furniture... and, more importantly, wasting energy and time?_

Her vision was still a hazy, variable thing with tiny white spots dancing all across its field. She blinked, suddenly afraid to pass out and foil all the efforts... The spots stayed. She looked down and saw the polished metal of the lid marred with specks... Snowflakes. Any humidity the room's air had had was being condensed and crystallized by the frost rising from the broken cryofreezer. _Wanted to eat snowflakes, eh? Here, served on a titanium plate, yum-yum! - _she shook her head, trying to remarshal the scattering thoughts. _- Oh, for the love of all that's sacred - what the fuck I'm thinking?_

The aura of warmth she'd owed her fast-forwarded defrosting started to fade, making her feet painfully aware of their unfriendly environment. Distressed or not, it was time to move on. Victoria pulled herself out of the cryofreezer and followed Pussy's suit, jumping down to the floor. Her knees buckled and she found herself on all fours. Very weak and trembling fours. Something clicked, and when Victoria raised her gaze to the source of the sound, she saw a man standing in the doorframe, his eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't heard him approaching. Hadn't heard his leather loafers step behind the door. Hadn't heard anything until it became too late. _Ohshitohshitohshit..._ She'd have given everything for her usual physical form instead of the current pathetic one, but... The ten feet of distance might as well have been ten miles. She couldn't cross them quickly enough. The man swore and slid his hand under the white lab coat he wore. Victoria could bet it wasn't a stethoscope he was after. It was a gun.

* * *

The gun was out already and moving to point at Victoria, when the invisible line she'd felt awhile ago went taut again. A low and menacing hiss came from behind the cryofreezer and the man reflexively jerked his gun in that direction. Something black leaped over the lid. A shapeless, growing and stretching form moved with a lightning speed, and a split-second later a twitching arm with the gun still clenched in it fell on the floor, splashing blood across Victoria's face. An inarticulate agonizing scream rose and faded, being replaced with wet sounds of ripping flesh. A few moments later the body burst into white smokeless flame. Seras snatched the gun away from burning and shriveling remains of the arm, and fell back on her butt to free both hands. She pressed her shoulder-blades against the cold side surface of the cryofreezer, training the gun on the new danger. There was a doubt if this weapon would be of any use even fired point blank, but she did the only thing she could. She looked at the newcomer down the barrel of the gun, held in a two-handed grip. The target was huge, sleek, catlike... Catlike? More leopard-like, bar the spots. Muscles bulged and twisted underneath the jet black fur, as the creature turned and looked at Victoria intently with its eight red eyes. Familiar eyes...

"P-Pussy?" - she stammered almost involuntary.

The creature blinked, uttered an innocent mew and started to wash its face with a paw. Victoria took a deep shuddering breath and dropped her hands in her lap. They were shaking too badly anyway... A bit of memory flicked in her mind - the low warm pitch of Dad's voice...

"When you were three, Vicky, and your Mom was taken to the hospital for the first time, I used to take you for a walk in a park not far from our place every time I was off the duty. Do you remember that? No? You should. You could stay there for hours, feeding squirrels and pestering me for taking one home... Heh... Anyway, one day you had a really good time with squirrels and a bag of peanuts, and I was on a park bench nearby. I smoked and listened to your cooing, when a dog came running around a hedge. It was a black mastiff - a huge scary looking beast, badly trained and malicious. Its owner often walked it in the park... But that time the bloody nitwit... ahem... the bloke let it run about the park - a public place! - without a muzzle or a leash. I moved to you, trying not to excite the dog with rush movements, and picked you up into my arms. And then... Damn, even remembering that gives me creeps! You saw the dog, twisted out of my arms and ran right to that monster... Jesus! A three year old pumpkin with pigtails, you wrapped your tiny hands around its neck, turned to me and squealed enthusiastically: "Daddy! Daddy! I want a hamster like this!"

"I don't remember anything... Did it attack me?"

"Never. Your precious "hamster" just sat on its ass, drooled and looked stupid...Too shocked, maybe. Like me."

A nervous snicker trickled through Victoria's lips. The warmth was gone completely and shivers started to rack her body. Pussy raised its head, blinked and moved forward. In one smooth motion it rubbed its back against Victoria's side and purred. She scooted away from the cryofreezer, hugged the hellcat's neck, dug her fingers deep into its fur and whispered:

"Daddy! Daddy! I want a hamster like this!"

The cat wriggled in her arms happily and purred louder. Yeah. Big, fanged, carnivorous hamster... er... kitty, whatever. It would tear an armed man apart in mere seconds, wash its face neatly and come to its mistress to be petted. Like one hell of a good kitty...

Victoria started to laugh. She laughed and laughed and laughed, and then tears came. She couldn't help it, so she just sat there, feeling the tension flowing away, and the hellcat drew even closer, warming her and licking the young vampire's pink tears off her cheeks.

Finally she calmed down, picked up the trophy gun and checked its ammo. Eight bullets. Made of silver, whoa. They played it tough here...She pressed the safety switch on the gun, tucked it into the small of her back and carefully got up on her feet. Yay, big progress. She limped to the corner of the room, where she'd spotted a lab coat on a peg. The capturing fight in the night street and further freezing/defrosting had turned her clothes into a bad case of wardrobe malfunction, so any additional piece of cloth in the downright frigid air of the room was bliss. Victoria hastily wrapped herself into the coat, founding that its previous owner was almost of her height and her size except for the chest. She snorted, giving up on attempts to button the coat all the way to the top and headed to the door. The hellcat trod beside her, gradually shrinking to its original compact size. Obviously, Pussy was not a show-off type.

* * *

Author's note:

2Byakko: As far as I know, Sanskrit and Aryans do mix pretty well. Google it up, Sanskrit is considered to be the language of Aryan tribes that invaded India. As for Tibet, its monasteries are known for having vast libraries with ancient scrolls and books of various origin. I read a book about Nazis sending expeditions there to look for occult info. Maybe the author of the book used his artistic license ™ too freely, I don't know. :)


End file.
